Transposed
by Lady Lemons
Summary: An Ancient attempt at a ‘Fountain of Youth’ attributes to the unexpected arrival of an ally to Atlantis who is not at all as they remember. Can they set her to rights before one of their own falls victim to the same device? S4
1. Chapter 1

Transposed Part 1

Summary: An Ancient attempt at a 'Fountain of Youth' attributes to the unexpected arrival of an ally to Atlantis who is not at all as they remember. Can they set her to rights before one of their own falls victim to the same device? Response to a request by Data Seeker who hankered for a 'kid-fic.' (S4)

Atlantis Control Room:

Usually, the ever competent and steadfast Chuck Campbell manned the gate with experienced ease. But sometimes, occasionally, (who's joking?) frequently, things did not go as planned.

Presently, the faithful gate technician found himself working on the underbelly of the console in an attempt to help restore the rebellious long-range sensors. Not only could the good tech monitor the gate, raise the shield, and accept incoming transmissions, but like any skilled computer geek he possessed certain other useful problem solving qualities as well.

Like now, elbow deep in wires and connecting cables he was helping Dr. Ren, a fellow control room regular, isolate and fix the glitch in the long-range sensors. Several hours before, when the problem manifested itself, they notified Colonel Carter, who gave them permission to have a go at fixing the problem. Contrary to popular belief, they did not always need to call upon the services of Dr. McKay or Dr. Zelenka to correct a glitch.

Emerging from the less than comfortable confines under the console, Chuck stood up to check his laptop, as Dr. Ren completed another set of commands on her own data pad. After three hours of running diagnostics and tweaking connections, the two were finally rewarded with success as the Canadian tech cried out, "We have long-range sensors."

No sooner than the words left his mouth, and Emily Ren climbed out from under the console were the two rewarded with a chirp from the computer indicating an approaching ship no less. As neither the Daedalus nor Apollo was expected for several weeks, the pair looked at each other in dismay at the present development.

Ancient Ship:

Acting Captain Cauls was less than thrilled.

Not only was their Captain incapacitated at the moment, but he was powerless to fix the problem. Worse was the fact that every competent being on their ship attempted to restore her, but ultimately failed. Cauls sighed at the thought that they simply did not have enough experience in dealing with temperamental and touchy ancestral technology, while rued the fact that he had no choice but to ask for help.

For Artur Cauls was not a power-hungry man, he instead devoted himself to serving his Captain to the fullest and protecting his ship; his home. On the other hand, Cauls was extremely proud of himself, and of his people.

So the fact they sought assistance from people other than his own left a sour taste in his mouth and bitterness on his lips. Yet as he looked down at the five year old girl bouncing around in front of him, his heart melted at the sight of her as he vowed to do whatever possible to restore her to her normal self—even if it meant asking for help from _them._

Atlantis:

Colonel Carter sighed as the implications of what Chuck told her set in: a ship was headed their way, and would arrive in no less than four hours. Four hours to prepare for a potential attack, and with the identity of the attackers unknown, for this was no wraith hive headed their way, but rather an ancient battle cruiser! This factor baffled her, as they believed all of the replicators destroyed during the attack on the replicator home world.

So who was it? Perhaps a ship of ancients en route to their home? Would they be kicked out again?

No, Sam dismissed that thought because the approaching ship traveled at full hyperdrive to reach them. She doubted a ship full of ancients would still be around if their hyperdrive worked to maximum capacity—they would have reached Atlantis years ago.

Still thinking hard, another possibility dawned on Sam. Perhaps the ship approaching them was full of Travelers? Before the battle with the replicator home world, they had helped outfit Larrin's ship: her _ancient battle cruiser_! Yet, they still needed to prepare themselves if the approaching ship was not an ally, so she called the senior staff to an emergency meeting.

Atlantis Conference Room:

"So, you're telling me I have four hours to come up with a brilliant plan to save us from an unknown Ancient ship heading directly towards us?" whined Rodney McKay. Yet, all present knew this would not burden the astrophysicist too much, for it was a well known fact he thrived under impending doom.

Rolling his eyes, Sheppard drawled, "Yes Rodney, we all immediately look to you to save us! You're the only who can after all."

Narrowing his eyes and glaring McKay replied hotly, "Well, I am just saying. Historically speaking I have come up with countless plans to save our collective butts and I need to know if today is going to be one of those days!"

However, this did little to phase his companions, who had long before grown used to the abrasive nature of the man, and failed to quail under his temper—like many of the others who worked under McKay.

Before the argument continued further, Carter stepped in saying, "Well, we don't know for sure that the approaching ship is hostile. It could be Larrin's ship."

Rodney scoffed at this idea and said pointedly, "Oh look Colonel, I guess your girlfriend just wants to pay a friendly visit."

Next to John, Ronon quietly sniggered, but not rising to the bait he replied, "Yeah, well just in case it isn't, I think we still need a backup plan, and she's _not_ my girlfriend."

"Yes," began Teyla calmly trying to salvage their present predicament and stave off a full out bickering session from the guy, "Would they not have sent a transmission if they were friendly? The travelers did not strike me as the most open of people. They were sort of…aloof last time we worked with them."

"Snobby and pompous more like it," commented McKay, "They wanted their ship fixed, but hated how we were the ones who had to do it. Completely ungrateful. Humph."

"Hmmm, sounds like Rodney, yet we still work with him," commented Ronon smugly to the scientist who began to turn red and splutter.

"Alright gentlemen," said Sam coolly trying to bring the meeting back to order, "I think it would be wise to have someone in the chair with drones at the ready."

"Guess that's a job for me," replied John, "Although we should probably also have jumpers in the air just in case."

Rodney nodded, "Yes, yes, yes. The shield will hold up perfectly fine for a while. But we are NOT making the city fly away again. We should probably dial the gate once they exit hyperspace to occupy it, just in case they try to active a gate of their own to lock us out."

They all fell silent at his pronouncement, thinking back to the last time, and its disastrous consequences.

"Alright, we have a plan, in the good chance that this approaching ship is NOT friendly," said Sam, "Let's get this taken care of."

Ancient Ship:

Acting-Captain Cauls turned to the scientist seated next to him and said, "Make sure to drop out of hyperspace just before we reach the planet and start broadcasting the message. We do not want them to try and take down our ship."

"Yes sir," replied the scientist dutifully.

Cauls knew they needed to alert the ancient city to the fact they were friendly, while the Lanteans needed other ships to help attack another world, he doubted very much they had problems defending themselves. This was the city of the ancients after all, who knew what kinds of defenses existed to protect their home.

Atlantis:

Back in the control room, Chuck sat poised over the DHD, ready to dial the moment the ship exited hyperspace. They would not make the same mistake again, and fall into the trap of loosing access to their gate. They had paid a high price for that mistake.

Nearby, Colonel Carter stood watching the monitor displaying the sensors. In a matter of minutes the ship would exit hyperspace. She radioed Lorne, who was leading the jumpers, "How we doing Major?"

"_Great Colonel," _responded Lorne_, "Everyone is in position. We are hovering around the city, waiting for your word_."

"Wonderful," Sam replied hoping that they would not need the extra protection, but grateful for the option nonetheless. "John what about you?"

"_Oh, I'm just peachy_—_sitting in the old easy chair, feet up and everything,"_ replied Sheppard cheekily.

Sam chuckled, imagining her second in command reclining in the chair, knowing he was the best suited for the job. Because, for some strange reason that aspect of the city responded to him better than anyone else, "Okay people, sit tight and let's wait for their move."

Everyone in the control room let out a collective breath once the ship exited hyperspace, and they readied themselves. Chuck dialed the gate to keep it under their control, Rodney activated the city's protective shield—they did not think it wise to risk bluffing with the cloak, draining the power when the ship's course was directly at them.

Moments later Zelenka called out, "We are receiving an audio transmission from the ancient ship!"

Sam strode over to him and replied, "Play it Radek."

"_This is Acting Captain Cauls. Presently I am filling in for Captain Larrin, who desperately needs your assistance. Please allow us safe passage into your city, we only wish to cash in our favor for helping you destroy the Replicators. As a show of good faith, we are disarming our weapons."_

"Radek, open a channel," asked Sam relaxing slightly at the thought that they would probably not have to fight their way out of this situation, but cautious never the less, as her diplomatic mask fell into place.

Radek complied and signaled to Sam who began, "This is Colonel Carter."

"_Colonel Carter, I am Acting Captain Cauls."_

Raising her eyebrows she replied tactfully, "Not to prod, but why 'acting'? What happened to Larrin?"

There was silence for a moment, as if the captain was hesitant to divulge an explanation, "_She came off the worse from an encounter with an ancient device," _Cauls stated_, "We found that none of my people posses the skill-sets to restore her. We have come here seeking your help because you have the best known knowledge of ancestral devices."_

Surprised at the flattery, for they had been far less open last time, replied, "Oh, well then we shall lower the shield, and you may land on one of the piers where a delegation will be sent to meet you."

"_Thank you Colonel," _came Cauls' reply formally before breaking off the transmission.

Atlantis:

Shortly after the conversation ended, Sam called back Major Lorne's jumpers and ordered Chuck to lower the shield and de-activate the gate. She still had Radek and Rodney monitor the ship to make sure that they did not suddenly arm weapons to attack them. The plight of the Travelers seemed authentic and she could hear in Cauls voice that he genuinely needed their help.

By the time Major Lorne entered the control room from the jumper bay, Colonel Sheppard and Ronon entered from the other direction after coming from the chair room. The three of them, plus two squads of marines volunteered to meet the delegation of Travelers who wanted to speak with Carter. Remaining in the control room were Sam, Teyla, Rodney, and Radek.

Teyla at this point, did not need to be running all over the city in her current condition, she only had four months left after all, and stood over the two scientists who monitored the ship as it landed on one of the piers for any deception.

Atlantis Pier 2:

The group walked out onto the pier to see the giant ancient ship docked peacefully, quite a different sight from when the Daedalus or Apollo docked, for this ship seemed to blend perfectly into the surroundings—after all, both the ship and the city had been made by the same people.

Exiting the ship and approaching the Lanteans was a group of three: two men and a little girl.

Lorne cocked his head in puzzlement as he quipped, "Well, it's not every day that a delegation brings a little girl to the negotiation table."

As the group got closer, a sinking feeling in John's stomach grew as he eyed the little girl. The child seemed barely older than five years of age, but something about her struck a familiar chord. The way her wavy dark brown hair cascaded down to her shoulders, framing a face centered on brilliant dark eyes, radiating intelligence, seemed all too coincidental. Clothed in a simple loose tunic, the shirt barely fell to her knees while underneath, a pair of brown leather pants peeked out.

John noticed how she seemed resigned, and even reluctant, as one of the men led her away from the ship. However, her eyes told a different story as they darted to every corner, taking in everything.

Leaning towards the Major, John replied to Evan's previous comment, "You know, I think might have an idea why they are bringing a little girl to talk."

Evan shot a quizzical look at his CO, "Why?"

Frowning, John replied, "Mum's the word for now, but I'll bet you a mission of scientist babysitting that the little girl approaching us is Larrin."

Atlantis Control Tower:

After being led to the conference room, away from prying eyes, Acting Captain Cauls hesitated before sitting down in the intimidating discussion space. He watched as Colonel Carter entered the space with Dr. McKay in tow, and another man who appeared to be a scientist as well.

"Welcome," greeted Sam pleasantly, throwing a glance at the little girl, confused as to why such a child would be brought to a meeting. Voicing her confusion, Sam queried, "Who is this lovely young lady?"

The girl ceased her visual examination of the room and focused on the tall blonde woman who spoke to her, she replied coolly, "My name is Larrin."

Looking surprised at the pronouncement, Sam observed similar reactions in the faces of Rodney, Radek, and Teyla while Lorne simply shook his head in disbelief as John looked satisfied with himself. Ronon, on the other hand, folded his arms across his chest in suspicion.

Captain Cauls shifted uneasily and said, "Perhaps, Larrin could stay somewhere else while we talk?"

Sam, understanding that this was no place for a child, addressed the one person in the room best suited to keep the girl out of trouble, "Teyla, would you take our little guest to my office for the time being?"

"Of course," replied Teyla shaking off her surprised look, "I would be more than willing to keep an eye on her."

Larrin eyed Teyla sharply and asked, "Uncle Artur, do I have to?"

Cauls sighed as he replied, "Larrin remember what we talked about."

Hardly mollified, Larrin reluctantly allowed the Athosian leader to escort her to Carter's office.

Meanwhile, Sam, John, Rodney, and Radek, took their seats, while Ronon and Lorne stood watch over the additional man whole placed the large case he had been carrying on the conference table in front of him.

"So," began Sam diplomatically, "What exactly is going on and how can we help?"

Cauls took a deep breath before answering, "She and a small group of soldiers left the ship to trade at one of the markets on a planet we are friendly with. Ever trying to acquire new technology, at one particular vendor she touched a device that resulted in reverting her to a five-year old like state you all saw."

The skepticism in the room was evident, as Sam surveyed her people's reactions to the Captain's story.

Ronon managed to look more menacing as his hand strayed ever so closer to his gun.

Rodney, however, looked up from across the room, arms folded, "So you are saying the child that is being watched in Carter's office is Larrin?"

Annoyed that this rude man's impatience, Cauls replied testily, "Yes," the last time they worked together Cauls had disliked Dr. McKay, even if the man was brilliant—he was just so irritating.

Trying to stay diplomatic Cauls resumed his story, "Larrin's guards described how a blinding flash of light enveloped her once she touched the device. Once the light dissipated, all that remained is the little girl I brought with me."

Nodding understandingly, Carter said, "So you thought we might be able to help you get your Captain back if you brought her here? You did bring the device correct?"

Sighing heavily, "Colonel Carter, I have no wish to remain Acting Captain any longer than I must. Larrin was more than competent and held a greater amount of vision than I have ever seen. I could in no way lead as she led us. Please help me restore her."

Accepting the truth of his words and the conviction behind it, a convinced Colonel Carter replied, "Of course we will help you Captain Cauls. I'm sure we can put her to rights before too long. Dr. McKay is one of the best scientists we have when it comes to ancient technology, as is Dr. Zelenka, " Sam motioned to

Radek, "Dr. Keller will, of course, make sure he doesn't do anything to harm Larrin."

Feeling relieved that Larrin would get some help, even if he did not exactly like all of 'Lanteans, Cauls trusted Carter and replied, "Thank you. However that is one more thing you must know."

Chuckling softly, Sheppard drawled, "Only 'one' thing?"

Putting down anger at the insolence of this man, for he had heard of the trouble Sheppard caused the first time Larrin encountered him, Cauls replied, "We are a proud people, my race, independent and leery of asking for outside help. But presently even our most close knit groups are starting to quarrel amongst themselves. "

Cauls paused for a moment, realizing the enormity of his revelation: a great weakness of his people exposed for the Lanteans to see. "A great meeting has been scheduled by our governing council to try and rectify these differences. My ship must be present."

"So basically, you need us to fix Larrin, while you go off and try and fix your people is that it?" asked John skeptically, all the while thinking about Larrin's vague comments the last time they met, about her needing to take care of some issues he needn't worry his pretty little head about.

Acting-Captain Cauls, after revealing everything, said tiredly, "Yes."

Sam turned to look at Rodney, and his eyes clearly said he was annoyed by this. John, on the other hand, might not have been the most eloquent at verbally expressing himself at times, could have entire conversations with his eyes. They provided true insight to the man's intelligence and emotions, and right now he was giving Sam a look that clearly said they needed to help fix this.

Gathering up her things Sam replied, "Alright Captain Cauls, Larrin may certainly stay with us for the time being, while you and your ship return to meet with your people.

--tbc--

reviews are love!


	2. Chapter 2

Transposed II

_Author's Note: So, just for reference, this fic is pretty much completely written. It's seven parts, and it's the beginning of the last chapter that I am still tweaking. I plan to post a new chapter every other day, that way I can double check my revisions. Enjoy._

Atlantis:

In short order, for the Travelers tended to be an efficient bunch, Larrin and her things were brought from the ship. Cauls apparently counted on the Lanteans agreeing to his request, and thus the girl's things were already in order.

Mostly, the clothes came from families who had young girls similar in size to Larrin; they had been more than willing to share with the ship's leader in her current misfortune. Lorne was sent to escort the lackey Cauls brought with to the meeting to retrieve the girl's necessary items from the ship, and to ensure that nothing dangerous was smuggled along into the city.

At the closure of the meeting, a pair of marines arrived to escort Drs. McKay and Zelenka to a joint lab, bringing along the suspicious case Cauls turned over into their care.

Bidding the two scientists farewell he imparted one final bit of information, "Inside the case is everything we managed to discover about the device, along with the ancestral instrument. Good luck finding a reversal process."

McKay, ever one to project his enormous ego, dismissed the well-wish saying, "Yes, yes I'm sure you collected a vast amount of 'helpful' data; that's why your Captain is still running around in a five year old body. If anyone can fix this, it's me."

"Us," corrected Zelenka shaking his head at his colleague's self centered personality, while muttering in Czech under his breath as to the flawed character of the man.

To the relief of all present, the two scientists left without further ado to work on their latest project. While relieved that Larrin was guaranteed to find help in this city, Cauls was also anxious to depart with his, no 'her', ship soon in order to rendezvous with the rest of his race. Still, his heart told him he had one more obligation to fulfill before departing.

Turning to Colonel Carter he asked, "May I speak to Larrin before taking my leave?"

Sam, understanding that while Cauls was still slightly aloof and extremely polite—to a fault—towards them, he truly cared for his leader's wellbeing, nodded and replied, "Of course Captain, she's this way."

Cauls followed the Colonel across the control room, over a small gangway, to a glass walled office; Sheppard and Ronon trailed behind protectively. The door whooshed open to reveal the girl's excited tones, "Uncle Artur! I have been learning the most wonderful hand game from Auntie Teyla."

Surprised, John shot Teyla a raised eyebrow, and she replied, "Yes, Larrin and I have been getting along quite well."

However Ronon casually asked the question they were all thinking, "Auntie?"

Cauls coughed politely and clarified, "It is our custom for our children to call anyone who watched over them Uncle or Aunt, unless otherwise specified."

"Oh," said Sam smiling at the endearing gesture. "Well, we will leave the two of you to say your goodbyes."

She motioned to the team, who followed her out of her office, leaving Cauls and Larrin alone. Standing just at the entrance to the gangway, she turned to the three and voiced her thoughts, "So she seems harmless enough."

Teyla nodded in agreement, "Yes, the child Larrin is most unlike her adult form. She is much more trusting and curious."

Raising an eyebrow, John asked in disbelief, "Really?"

"Yes," replied the Athosian, "She seemed hesitant initially, but most children are nervous about meeting new adults. However, after a few minutes she opened up into a rather chatty child."

Thinking for a moment Sam asked, "Does she know who she is?"

The petite woman shook her head, "No, Larrin seems to have no memories of her adult life or any knowledge of who she was. I suspect Cauls kept her unaware of what happened because she is as innocent as any other young girl."

"So she's not a threat?" grunted Ronon succinctly, remembering the strong and crafty personality the woman exuded during their last encounter, and not forgetting the time she kidnapped Sheppard.

"Nah, Big Guy," John remarked casually, "She seems to be just like any other little girl."

"Yes," commented Sam softly, "I think setting a guard would only scare or startle her. I know this isn't the most glamorous job, but since you three know the most about her, I'd like you to keep an eye on her in case she begins to exhibit any peculiar behavior."

Sighing John summed up the job sarcastically, "So we have baby-sitter duty until Rodney can fix this?"

Shifting guiltily, Sam replied, "Sorry, but she is a head of state, in a manner of speaking, and.."

"And," John interjected, cutting in to finish her faltering sentence, "She needs to be looked after; we get it."

Teyla glanced to Ronon, who obviously looked displeased with the assignment, and said, "Yes, as I am currently not on active duty, and Rodney is otherwise occupied in locating a solution, we cannot go off-world like a normal team, and this presents something we can do as a team."

"Well technically," began John only to be silenced by a glare from Teyla who stated with a clear note of finality in her voice, "We will manage just fine for the next couple of days."

"Good," concluded Sam, happy to see some resolution to the matter.

She knew neither John nor Ronon would be exactly thrilled with the task, but Teyla would make sure they at least behaved themselves. After all, she did not plan on delegating the watching of a head of state, albeit a five year old, to just anyone. Who knew what Larrin might remember once she was returned to her normal form?

Atlantis: Sam's Office

Cauls walked over and knelt down in front on the girl. "Larrin, you're going to stay here for a while with Colonel Carter and her people."

The little girl cocked her head in question, "But why Uncle Artur? I want to stay with you!"

Smiling to himself Cauls replied, "No, I must meet with some other leaders, and you would get too bored. It is best if you stay here where you will be safe and looked after."

The girl's face clouded over as she whined, "But why here? I was safe on the ship."

"No, Larrin these talks might be dangerous," a little lie might be necessary thought Cauls, "And you would only get in the way. Please be good for them."

Accepting her fate, albeit reluctantly, Larrin replied, "Alright, I'll be good. Beside Auntie Teyla was very nice."

Chuckling Cauls kissed the child on the head, "Be good for all of them, I will be back to get you when the talks are done."

"Okay," acquiesced the girl with a smile.

Standing up, Acting-Captain Cauls walked to the door and the Lanteans filed in. Bidding them farewell he said, "I must leave now. Larrin has promised to listen to you until I return."

The little girl nodded and waved to Cauls as he walked out of the office. Crossing paths in the control room with Major Lorne, Evan and several other Marines escorted the Acting-Captain to his ship.

Left in Sam's office Larrin turned to the strange adults around her and asked boldly, "Now what? And who are you?"

"Well," began Sam, "Firstly I am Colonel Carter."

"Ooooh," remarked the little girl, "Are you in charge? This is you office isn't it?"

Ignoring the chuckles from John and Ronon, Sam replied, "Yes, and what I need you to do is go with Uncle John and Uncle Ronon to go visit Dr. Keller."

"Why? I'm not sick," pouted Larrin, folding her arms across her chest for effect.

"No," replied Sam kindly, "We just want to make sure you are fine and that's what everyone who visits the city must do."

Still looking slightly rebellious, Larrin replied stiffly, "Fine."

"Great," Sam said in relief, before looking to both guys.

"Okay squirt," remarked John humorously, "Let's go visit Dr. Keller. If you're good she might just give you a lollipop."

The girl got up and began to follow both guys out of her office. When they were on the gangway, Sam heard Larrin ask, "What's a lollipop?"

Sam made eye contact with the Athosian who still sat in one of the comfy chairs, and the two dissolved into laughter as they imagined John trying to explain the concept of a sucker to the child.

Atlantis Corridors:

Walking in between the two tall men down the stairs leading from the control room, Larrin turned to John and asked curiously, "So you're Uncle Ronon?"

From the other side Ronon laughed, "He only wishes he was."

John scoffed and clarified, pointing to the Satedan, "No, that's Ronon, I'm John."

"Oh," said the girl simply, barely staying silent a minute before asking, "Uncle John, why is your hair so messy?"

Ronon snickered again, as the trio turned down another corridor and quipped, "Many people have asked that before."

"Because it just is," answered John slightly frustrated at Ronon trying to gang up on him.

The group passed more and more expedition members as they continued their walk causing Larrin to ask, "Why do you all dress the same?"

"No," John frowned, "We don't _all_ dress the same. Sure they're similar styles, I guess, but it's sort of a uniform thing."

"Okay," replied Larrin before she turned quickly to Ronon, "Uncle Ronon why do you dress differently?"

"Because he's weird," interjected John sarcastically, smirking at the Big Guy.

"No," Ronon shrugging as he refused to be baited, "My clothes are just more comfortable."

"Well, I think they look nice," commented Larrin simply, before halting in her tracks.

The source of her distraction was, of course, an enormous stained glass window giving the small girl a beautiful view of the city through its panes.

"Wow," she exclaimed in awe, gazing out at the city. She could hardly believe that such a large and beautiful place existed. Her previous disappointment faded as she took in the magnitude of the city; deciding right there and then to take advantage of everything the city had to offer, and her two escorts.

Finally tearing herself away from the window, Larrin asked, "Are we almost there?"

Ronon chuckled, while Sheppard replied, "Almost."

The trio reached the end of the corridor and turned down another when Larrin asked again, "Are we there yet?"

John rolled his eyes, regretting not taking a transporter in favor of letting their guest experience more of the city!

Atlantis Infirmary:

Seated on an examination bed, the curly-brown haired girl sat in a state of barely controlled excitement. After spending days on that stuffy ship, she was thrilled to be in new surroundings—and such beautiful ones as these! Uncle Artur had explained that he needed to go on a little trip for a while, and was leaving her here to keep her safe. While slightly upset and being left behind, Larrin consoled herself with the fact that she was now with two new uncles who she could tell were going to be fun to stay with.

"Uncle Ronon," she whined, "Why are you so big?"

Ronon sighed, taking in the little girl, and replied, "Because I eat a lot."

"If I eat a lot too, will I get to be as big?" queried the girl innocently as she swung her legs back and forth over the side of the bed.

Ronon had been left with the task of keeping an eye on the girl as Sheppard walked away to discuss the situation with Dr. Keller, privately. He peered down at the little form of the Traveler leader, and saw Larrin's big brown eyes staring up at him.

"Tell me a story!" she demanded.

Racking his brain for something appropriate, Ronon settled on an old fable from his childhood—hopefully nobody was near enough to overhear because the Satedan was sure he'd never live this down……"_A long time ago, in a small village, there lived a small boy. He was an only child, living with his grandmother, and she doted on him—giving him everything he could ever wish for."_

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the infirmary Dr. Jenifer Keller attempted to understand, let alone explain the phenomena of Larrin's test results.

"I assure you Colonel," she began, "all of her test results say that she is a perfectly healthy five year old girl."

Frowning slightly Sheppard asked, "So there's nothing for you to do?"

"Nope," Jen shook her head, "I guess it's up to McKay and Zelenka to find a solution. I'll just be there to consult if necessary, in regards to her overall wellbeing."

"Great," John drawled, "Well then I guess we will get out of your hair for a while. I should probably see what Ronon and little Larrin are getting up to."

Jen watched as the pilot started to walk back to the patient area, but just before he was out of sight he turned and called back, "Oh you are up for babysitting duty sometime?"

"You're kidding right?" asked the good Doctor, not wanting to believe what she heard.

"Nope," smirked the Colonel at the cringing physician, "I'm sure you've babysat sometime in your life. I'll let you know when it's your turn."

"Great," commented Jenifer to no one in particular, fully aware of the fact she would end up getting roped into watching Larrin.

John on the other hand, walked back to the bed Larrin had be left at, but as he approached he heard Ronon telling her a story of all things.

"_And only then did the boy realize that even if he had everything in the world, he would not necessarily be happy. True happiness comes from the little things in life_."

John stood completely still, dumbstruck at the fact he had never heard Ronon share anything neither quite so profound nor so eloquent. Hating to interrupt the moment, he peered around the curtain to see the Satedan sitting on the bed next to Larrin, shoulder to shoulder.

Looking up at him, Ronon gave him a look that dared him to mention this to anyone. Accepting the fact that he'd probably end up hurting after their next sparring session, John opted not to verbalize the sarcastic response hanging on his tongue.

Instead he turned to Larrin and asked cheerily, "How about we go get something to eat?"

The little girl lit up instantly at the thought of food, causing John to smile as he realized the food in the mess was far superior to that of Larrin's ship, if memory served him right!

Atlantis Mess:

Sometime later Teyla managed to find her two teammates seated in the mess, as they introduced Larrin to a variety of delicious Earth delicacies.

She could see the leftover paper from several cupcakes, and bowls and spoons littered the table around them containing crumbs and remnant from sampled treats. Sadly, she frowned at the thought of how hyper the child would soon become after eating so much junk food. She doubted that either guy had thought of that!

Making her way over John called out to her, "Hey Teyla guess whose love for popcorn rivals your own?"

"Yeah Auntie Teyla," called Larrin from behind the bowl of ice cream she was licking clean, "Popcorn was scrummy tasting!"

Teyla smiled as she looked down on the little girl seated in front of her, between her two teammates. She could hardly fathom how this child, so strong yet incredibly trusting, grew into the dominant leader she met during the Replicator incident.

This was a different Larrin, one who was still so full of life, but held no qualms towards trying new things. The Athosian mused to herself as to what happened to evoke such a change in the woman, but in the end chalked it up to surviving in the Pegasus Galaxy.

Shaking her head, she said coolly, "What are your plans for later this afternoon? Larrin, wouldn't you like a tour of the city?"

The little girl smiled and began to nod, but stopped suddenly as if in pain. Larrin raised her hands to her head as a plethora of images bombarded her senses. Images of growing up, images of battle, of losing her parents, of her people looking to her to lead, of having to grow up incredibly fast, the sad realization of her people's degeneration, of seeking any solution to help her people.

To the three watching over her, they noted the radical change in the young girl. Sitting between Ronon and John, Larrin began to shake uncontrollably. Ronon immediately sprang into action, by scooping up the young girl while John activated his radio saying, "Dr. Keller we have an emergency situation with Larrin."

"What's going on?" replied Jennifer calmly, a hallmark of her professionalism.

John, looking over to the form in Ronon's arms as they hurried out of the mess, tried to explain what happened, "We were just eating in the mess when she started shaking and clutching her head."

Hurriedly prepping the infirmary as she tried to understand the situation Keller replied, "Okay, she was eating….well then we cannot rule out an allergic reaction. But then why was she clutching her head?"

Meanwhile, the emotional upheaval of images stopped abruptly inside Larrin's head, while confusion set it. The last thing she remembered was touching some device back at the market. Wait where was she now? She could feel herself resting in someone's arms; moving. She was being carried. But that was absurd, what happened? She forced herself to open her eyes, even though she second guessed the idea as the pounding in her head threatened to expel the entire contents of her stomach. Yuck what had she eaten?

Larrin looked up to gaze upon her "rescuer" but couldn't place the man. He looked familiar, but she was unsure as to why?

Suddenly, another voice spoke, disrupting her exceedingly confused thoughts.

"Whoa Doc, she's stopped thrashing and seems to be awake now."

It only took a split second for Larrin to place THAT voice, after all, it belonged to a man she was unlikely to forget for a while after all of the trouble he had caused.

Larrin raised her head to confirm her suspicions, "Sheppard?" she whispered weakly.

She saw the man in question shoot her a quizzical look before the pain in her head overwhelmed her completely, and the darkness took over.

--tbc--

_Reviews are love!_


	3. Chapter 3

Transposed Part 3

Atlantis Infirmary:

Nestled comfortably and resting peacefully, the miniaturized Travelers leader's condition only served to puzzle Jenifer as she checked on her only patient. Resigning herself to the inconclusive examination, she took what little information she possessed to the group waiting in her office. As she entered the space she began, "Well, there appears to be nothing physically wrong with her, other than an intense migraine. Right now I've given her some pain medication and she'll hopefully sleep it off."

"That's it?" asked Ronon gruffly, "She began to shake and didn't stop for several minutes."

"Well," began Keller thoughtfully considering his point, "It is possible she had a seizure, but by the time you brought her here, there was little I could do because she seemed completely fine."

"Other than the fact she was unconscious," commented John unconvinced. Something about the way she looked at him, just before she passed out bothered him, so he asked, "What about her brain activity? Did you check that when she was brought in?"

Jenifer looked up sharply at the astute question posed by the Colonel. Pondering the possible implications she said, "Yes, she did show signs on some increased mental activity, but that soon faded after she settled into a deep sleep. Why?"

Unsure whether or not to voice his suspicions, John said, "Well, she looked at me strangely before passing out. She called me 'Sheppard' and only in the way the adult Larrin ever did."

"What? Are you saying she was channeling some of adult memories?" queried Keller skeptically raising her eyebrows.

Sheppard looked at Ronon, who shot him a questioning look, and replied, "Look, I'm not sure what's going on, but she was really odd before she passed out completely and I didn't know if it might be from complications of that device thingy."

Nodding, Keller said completely in doctor mode, "Well then, I guess that's something you need to take up with McKay. I can only tell you what's going on right now, and all I know is that the little girl out there is resting peacefully now, sleeping off what appears to be a migraine."

Ronon stood up and said, "I guess we need to go visit McKay."

Standing up as well, John replied, "Thanks doc. Keep us posted on when she wakes up."

Jenifer watched the two men leave her office, leaning back in her chair once they were gone. She was as puzzled as they were towards the child's peculiar behavior and could attribute very little cause to it.

Still she found it rather cute that two of the city's "toughest" guys were concerned with the wellbeing of a little five year old girl!

Atlantis Corridor:

"But you're sure she's going to be fine?" came Sam's concerned voice over the com unit. She had been unavoidably detained in a mission briefing when Ronon and John delivered the unconscious Larrin to the infirmary.

"Yeah," replied John as he walked with Ronon in the general direction of McKay's lab, "Keller said she probably experienced a really bad migraine or something and now she's just sleeping it off."

"Alright," said Sam, somewhat mollified, "Still, checking with Rodney is a good idea. He and Radek might have uncovered more information about the side-effects of such a process. I'll check in with Jenifer to see how she's progressing, though."

"Sounds like a plan," answered John before signing off. They had just reached McKay's lab anyway.

Entering the lair of the two scientists', John asked abruptly, "So what have you found out?"

The result was priceless as Radek visibly jumped, and Rodney smacked his head against the table as he stood up. He had apparently been searching for something in the various boxes on the bottom shelf.

"Geeze Colonel," barked McKay, "Must you always do that?"

"Well," began Sheppard smugly leaning against a lab table, "You could avoid the whole thing by installing a doorbell if your paranoia is that severe."

"Or you could just train more with me," added Ronon equally as smug, "Then you'd be more aware of someone approaching you."

"Oh, very funny," shot back McKay as he reached down to pull out the connector cables he had been seeking prior to the current disruption, "Perhaps I just won't tell either of you anything now."

"McKay," growled Ronon impatiently folding his arms to take up a more threatening stance.

Sighing Rodney replied waving them off, "FINE! Radek tell them what we've discovered."

The Czech pushed his glasses up into a better position on his nose and began academically, "Well we've managed to sift through the research done by the Travelers."

"And?" questioned John impatiently wanting to get to the important information.

"They determined the device was used to turn adults back into children, but there seems to be more to it that we haven't deciphered yet," continued the scientist.

"Basically," cut in McKay as he reached to attach some cables to the device, "We already knew that by what happened to Larrin."

"Whoa, wait!" cried John moving to grab Rodney's hand.

"WHAT?" McKay exclaimed in confusion.

"If it turns adults into kids what in the world are you going to touch it?" asked John vehemently.

"Well," replied Rodney angrily pushing aside the Colonel's hand to attach the cords, "It is inactive, okay? See touch!"

Rolling his eyes in frustration, John replied, "Well you could have mentioned that earlier!"

"Great, so you don't know anything important yet?" asked Ronon adequately summing up the conversation.

"No," replied Radek honestly, pausing momentarily to answer the question before resuming his furious typing on his laptop.

"Well, not technically," began Rodney, but faltered under the glares of John and Ronon, "Okay, no nothing important. So just shoo and let us work. Go be Mr. Mom or something."

Atlantis Infirmary:

Meanwhile, Keller's youngest patient had awoken and was presently attempting to convince the Doctor she was fine, while driving Jenifer to the point in which she wanted to rip out her hair.

"But Auntie Jen," whined Larrin as she spun on a stool next to the workstation Keller was presently typing away at, "I'm bored sitting here. Can't I leave?"

Trying to reign in her annoyance, Jenifer had never been a very good babysitter, "No I can't just let you roam around the city. You'll get into far too much trouble."

"But I'm fine!" pleaded the girl, putting out her most convincing display yet.

Keller swore she had seen those puppy dog eyes before, and sighed exasperatedly, "You are worse than Colonel Sheppard when he is confined to the infirmary! Now young lady you are going to sit next to me and draw quietly so I can get some work done. Please."

Larrin stopped spinning on the stool and picked up her pencil so she could draw again. Jenifer basked in the silence before delving back into her work. However, the golden peace lasted for all of three minutes before the young girl asked inquisitively, "Who is Colonel Sheppard?"

Larrin started as the woman seated next to her began to giggle. "Auntie Jen what is so funny?"

Still smiling, Keller replied, "Sorry, but his full name is Colonel 'John' Sheppard, and he is by far the worst patient to have in the infirmary."

Recognition dawned in the girl's eyes, "Oh. That's funny Auntie Jen. Why is Uncle John the worst patient?"

"Well for starters, I always try to escape at least once or twice," drawled a familiar voice behind the two, spooking both at the appearance of the newcomer.

"Colonel," stressed Keller, "Don't give her ideas! Besides, you shouldn't lie to her. Truthfully, you attempt to escape at every chance that presents itself."

Smiling impishly at the obviously stressed out Doctor, John asked playfully, "So then I guess you don't want me assisting Larrin in escaping the infirmary now? Okay, then I'll leave you two alone. See you later Doc."

Realizing the full meaning of the Colonel's proposition Jenifer hastily amended, "No. No it's fine. I'll look the other way this time."

John looked down to the little girl who beamed up at him, "Well then, Larrin would you like to go for a little ride?"

If it was at all possible, Larrin's smile grew even wider as she cried, "I'd LOVE to go. Can we leave now? Please Auntie Jen? What are we riding in? Does it go fast?"

The bombardment caught Keller of guard for a moment, but Sheppard took it in stride due to his immunity built up from Rodney McKay's legendary inquisitive rants.

Recovering herself Keller shooed the pair out of the infirmary, "Now go both of you. I don't want to see you back here unless absolutely necessary!"

John nodded in agreement, "Believe me Doctor, I feel the same way all the time."

Atlantis Jumper Bay:

After only a few minor detours to look at some of the city's finer windows, the pair finally made it to the Bay and seated themselves in a Jumper. Well, John was seated as he ran through his pre-flight checks, while Larrin, on the other hand, stood on tiptoe as she gazed out of the Jumper's main window in anticipation.

"When are we leaving Uncle John? We're not moving yet? Is it broken? Are we going to go really fast? I'm bored, can't we leave already?" came the rapid-fire questions from the impatient little girl.

"Yes, we are leaving," answered John after receiving final clearance from Flight. "Now sit down, before you fall down. You don't want to end up back in the infirmary with Dr. Keller so soon do you?"

"Nope," replied the girl in agreement as she plopped down into the co-pilot's seat.

Opening the Bay roof door, the pilot easily maneuvered the Jumper out into the sky. Setting a loping course, John brought the little craft in a wide sweeping circle around the city in order for his passenger the best possible views.

From the sounds of utter amazement coming from next to him, John relished in the fact that he achieved his intent. After all, he promised to show the little girl more of the city, this way just involved a lot less walking.

"Would you like to go fly over the mainland too?" John asked once he sensed his passenger's waning enthusiasm; little children had such short attention spans after all. He, on the other hand, could have spent hours flying around the city, basking in its architectural beauty.

Not long after the ship zoomed off towards the mainland, the pilot noticed a shift in the girl's behavior. She was more subdued and quiet. However the exterior change hardly reflected the one taking place inside the girl's mind.

Images, no memories, flooded into the foreground of Larrin's mind making her head spin. Suddenly, everything stopped, and Larrin viewed the situation around her. The last thing she remembered occurring was being rushed somewhere with Sheppard next to her, communicating with someone.

Sheppard! What was he doing next to her? She warily surveyed her surroundings, and came up with no possible explanation. Voicing her confusion she asked coolly, "Sheppard, what am I doing here? And why am I in your puny little ship?"

Shocked at this strange, for there was indeed no other way to describe it, turn of events John whipped around to face the little girl next to him. However, the eyes staring haughtily back at him little resembled those of a child. They were not filled with youthful curiosity, but rather hardened suspicion.

"For the last time, my ship is NOT puny," defended the pilot passionately, "Wait, since when do you think it's puny?"

Rolling her eyes, Larrin spat smugly, "Since when I first captured your little "ship" with you in it, hardly difficult to manage after all."

"Oh really," John drawled before voicing the nagging suspicion at the back of his mind, "What do you mean the first time? You remember that?"

"Of course I remember that! How could I forget?" Larrin countered sarcastically slouching back in the copilot's chair, completely uncharacteristic of a five year old girl. Something, John noted, was horribly amiss.

"Larrin, what's the last thing you remember?"

The Traveler Leader shot him a quizzical look before indulging him, "What do you mean? Fine, I was trading at one of the friendly markets we have contacts on for more ancestral technology. I touched something and everything blacked out. The next thing I remembered was waking up in someone's arm with you talking next to me. That brings me to the here and now," here Larrin's tone turned deadly sweet, "I'm going to ask you one more time, WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING HERE? Where is MY ship?"

Getting fed up with her antagonistic nature, John snorted, "Hate to break it to you, but take a good look at yourself."

"What?" Larrin asked stopping to look down at her body. Realization set in moments later when she realized she lacked certain things, like height, normal female body parts, and height.

"It was the device wasn't it?" Larrin queried as she attempted to process her current situation. _This was NOT good._

Rubbing his temples as the city started to come back into view, he had subtlety turned the craft around the second he realized something was deeply wrong, "Look you were reversed to a five year old version of yourself. Your people couldn't figure out what to do, so they dumped you off on our doorstop."

"Oh," said Larrin quietly before turning angry again as she burst out passionately. "They left me? How could Cauls do such a thing?"

John waved his hand, dismissing her comment saying, "Look if it's any comfort they'll be back. Eventually; Cauls said your people were having issues and he needed to take the ship back to work them out. Your really don't remember any of this?"

Still puzzled, and pretty angry, Larrin huffed, "Of course I don't remember this, weren't you listening? Where are we going anyway?"

Pausing to lick his lips, John stated, "Well while you were still nice and acting like an annoying five year old girl, I took you out for a ride to get you out of everyone's hair. A huge mistake obviously." He slowly lowered the Jumper back into the bay, "Now we are going to go visit Keller to try and find out why the heck you suddenly have all of your adult memories back!"

"Great," drawled Larrin sarcastically as she moved to the back of the jumper towards the open ramp, "Let's get this over with. I want some answers anyway."

Atlantis:

Finally, Carter managed to dot all her "I's" and cross all her "t's" so that she had time to pay McKay and Zelenka a visit. Walking down to the lab area, she found the two scientists holed up in McKay's lab—arguing of course, over the best way to handle the research on the device.

"How's it coming?" she asked interestedly as she entered the lab, walking over to the device resting on the table. It was roughly the size of a shoe box, silver, and very smooth. In the middle on top, two buttons were embedded into the surface.

"Well," replied Radek, "So far all we have been able to determine is that its primary function is to serve as almost a 'fountain of youth'.

"Yes, yes, yes," added McKay distractedly from where he intently worked away at his pad, "Touch it, and regain your childhood. Obviously it has particular settings, we just haven't figured out what those are exactly."

"Oh, how did you get it out and hooked up without touching it?" Sam asked curiously as they were obviously still their proper age, and had attached a plethora of sensors and cables to gather readings.

"it's just not working anymore," replied Radek, "Perhaps it only works once and must be recalibrated or lacks enough power, we do not know."

"However, the Travelers' scientists mention trying to activate it too, and it didn't work for anyone other than Larrin," added Rodney, "Which is weird, because she doesn't have an extra special ancient gene or anything. She doesn't even _have_ the ancient gene."

"So, do you know anything that will help us right now?" asked Sam moving closer to the table. She ran her finger over the device tracing the two controls with her finger. Suddenly a white light enveloped her, causing her two companions to yell, "SAM!"

Both immediately searched for answers on their data pads to no avail. The light dissipated leaving in its wake a small blonde form, prone on the floor, the spitting image of Samantha Carter, still dressed in her Atlantis uniform which had conveniently shrunk along with its owner to protect her modesty.

Rodney rushed over to the small form and turned it over, staring horrorstruck at a five year old version of his boss, while Radek stood frozen gaping like a fish out of water.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" He exclaimed shaking his head.

_--tbc--_

_And then there were two._

_Reviews equal happiness._


	4. Chapter 4

Transposed Part 4

Atlantis Jumper Bay:

Ushering Larrin out of the Jumper, John proceeded to lead the way to the infirmary; silently. Larrin strode quietly after him, leaving him to sulk in temporary peace. For he was sulking, because it was one thing for the leader to look and act like a little child, but another matter all together to look like a five year old and act and sound like an adult.

"How long?" Larrin's small voice sounded unnatural to John, mainly due to the fact that the mind behind the voice no longer projected a five year old. It just didn't fit.

Raising one eyebrow in question, John queried nonchalantly, "How long what?"

Sighing disgustedly Larrin clarified, "How long will I be stuck like this before that McKay guy fixes it?"

This pronouncement caused John to chuckle softly. _That McKay guy_ was certainly a new one for John to torment the scientist with. Perhaps, though, he'd be pleased to know that his reputation was still spreading.

"Well," began John casually, "That McKay Guy is indeed trying to fix the device that did this. He should be coming up with something soon."

Further explanation was stalled by the activation of the pilot's com unit. "McKay to Sheppard."

Mouthing a 'see', John reached up to activate his headset, "Go ahead Rodney."

"Um, ah," Rodney began hesitantly, "There's been a slight accident."

Rolling his eyes in disgust, John asked with trepidation, "What kind of accident?"

"Sam got too close," Rodney spilled out hurriedly, obviously aware of coming repercussions of his statement.

By now John had halted completely in the hall, Larrin stood off to his side, eyeing him suspiciously as he spat, "What do you mean got too close? You better not mean what I think you mean?"

"And what is it that you think I mean? Come on and clarify that," challenged Rodney.

"Oh no, I am not playing that game with you! You know exactly what I think you think I mean," retorted John completely not amused.

"Really, you know what I mean, because you know, that I know, that you know what's going on?" Rodney baited out of pure spite, unwilling to concede failure on his part.

"RODNEY!"

"Alright," admitted McKay simply, "Sam came down to help, and sort of touched it before Radek could stop her. It's entirely his fault, by the way."

"Don't blame Zelenka," threatened John, "And don't try to change the subject. Fine, I'll meet you in the infirmary, with Sam, so we can make sure she's fine."

"So, let me see if I've got this straight," drawled Larrin drawing John's attention back to her, "Your leader is now in the same position as me? And here I thought you guys were supposed to be fixing this problem, not creating a bigger one!"

"Oh come on and shut up," motioned John with one hand as the other rubbed the bridge of his nose. The day just kept getting weirder and weirder, however just as they hit the entrance to the infirmary, Larrin's headache returned with a vengeance.

Atlantis Infirmary:

From the overhead observation room, John peered down at the two small figures currently occupying beds in the isolation room. Dr. Keller was down their along with Rodney, trying to ascertain what in the world was going on.

Sheppard was still seething at the fact McKay allowed Sam to fall prey to the device as well, because two little girls running around the city were the last things they needed!

He was also creeped out by the whole episode of Larrin recovering her adult memories. It was unnerving even for the Pegasus galaxy, and now Keller was monitoring the Traveler's brain activity in an attempt to figure out why the sudden shift in mental states. While their conversation in the jumper had been weird, the death glares he received the whole way to the infirmary had been tiresome. Larrin had answered Keller's questions easily enough, and looked extremely put off by the whole matter.

John only started down at the activity of the room below him for a few minutes before he was joined by Ronon and Teyla.

"This is weird," the Satedan stated simply, moving to stand next to Sheppard.

John nodded in agreement, "You're telling me."

"So, Larrin seemed to regain all of her adult memories while in the Jumper? Why?" Teyla asked for clarification, just as confused as either guy, wondering what would prompt such a drastic reaction.

"I have no idea," replied John, letting the conversation lapse into silence. It was late after all, and the trying day seemed to morph into a more complex problem with each hour.

Minutes later Keller and McKay joined them in the observation room, looking equally grim. "Well," began Jenifer hesitantly, "This is going to sound redundant, but now we know for sure that the little girl down there is Larrin, because she has all of the memories to confirm it. We can then deduce that the other child is Sam."

"Yes, but we already knew that," growled McKay exasperatedly, "I SAW the device change her; eye witness remember?"

"Okay, so they're both kids," stated John summing up what Keller told them, "But that doesn't explain why Larrin's mind mirrored her childlike form for almost the whole time she was here, before it switched to her adult mental state residing in the child's body? Rodney?"

The gaze of everyone present shifted to the astrophysicist in hopes that he could shed some light on the problem. "About that," Rodney began noncommittally, "We all know that the Ancients tended to make devices to fulfill grand schemes and designs right? Well, this one was an attempt to create a Fountain of Youth of sorts. They thought it would help them on their way to Ascension."

"By turning them into kids?" Ronon queried doubtfully.

"A child's mind is far less complex," stated Teyla contemplatively, "Children also radiate innocence, which I am sure they thought would assist them in their goal to ascend."

"Wonderful," mused John, running his fingers through his hair, messing it up even further, "We know why they built it, and I guess the adult consciousness was the side-effect they couldn't cure."

"And being the intelligent and persistent Ancients they were," commented Rodney dryly, "They never fixed the glitch and subsequently abandoned the project."

"But you can," grunted Ronon.

Rolling his eyes, Rodney retorted bitterly, "Of course it's all up to me. Again. One of these day's I'm not going to be able to fix your problems."

"But you see this isn't just our problem," replied John smugly, "It's also Sam's problem, and I'm sure you wouldn't want anything to happen to her. Besides, you always claim you know enough about everything to fix anything."

McKay's eyes narrowed dangerously as he spluttered, "Well I guess I'll just go hop to it then; because I can fix anything."

Another question still bothered Teyla, and she voiced her thoughts to the group, "Will the split consciousness be a problem though? Jenifer, do you think Larrin will keep hold of her adult memories until she is reverted back?"

"Actually, I have a theory about that," began Keller thoughtfully, "I think she will switch back and forth between a child like state and an adult consciousness. After Colonel Sheppard and Ronon brought her down when she began convulsing, I looked into her brain activity. It differed from when she first arrived to a little while after she was admitted."

"So I wasn't crazy then," justified John in satisfaction, "Her memories must have switched over in the hall because I thought she went a little weird."

"Exactly," chimed in Jen, "Presently she is asleep, but before I left her brain activity resembled that of the records of her child mentality. She seemed to zone out after I hooked her up to the monitors, clutching her head. I think the shifts in consciousness are marked by painful headaches."

"So, we can expect Sam to be subjected to the same problem," concluded Teyla wondering how this transformation would affect her friend.

Asking one more question Ronon chipped in, "This isn't going to hurt either one right? They're not in any danger are they?"

Jenifer shook her head, "No, from what I suspect switching between mental states produces a reasonably painful headache, as Larrin exhibited, with some minor convulsions, but nothing detrimental to their overall health thus far."

"Why did it work for Sam, and not any of us? You said it was inactive," John pondered out loud, wondering why it did not work when Rodney touched it or when he had.

"That's a funny thing actually," explained McKay faltering a bit, "Apparently the device has multiple settings which the Ancients thought would help streamline the process. Presently, only females who touch it get reverted to a five year old state; settings left over from the last time it was used."

"So once you figure out how to change the settings you can fix them right?" Ronon asked impatiently.

Everyone turned to stare back at Rodney who soon got the hint by saying, "Alright alright, just crack the whip again why don't you? I'll get on it."

Atlantis Infirmary:

After a fairly restful night, one of the two occupants of the observation room began to awake. Larrin peered around at the quietly whirring machines surrounding her and another small form in the next bed over. Reaching up to scratch her temples, the small girl realized probes were attached to her head.

Even more confused, she tried to figure out how she ended up there. The last thing she remembered was Uncle John taking her for a ride in, what did he call it? Oh yeah, a Puddle Jumper. She was on a Jumper ride around the city.

Suddenly, a slight moaning next her brought Larrin out of her musing as she saw a small blonde head emerge from under some covers. Even though she was curious about why she hadn't met this girl yet, Larrin in her excitement didn't hesitate in pulling the leads from her head and jumping on the bed next to her.

"Who are you?" Larrin asked curiously, resting her head on her hands, staring at the other child.

The blond girl shot her a weird look, but before she could reply Keller walked in saying, "Larrin meet Sam, Sam meet Larrin."

"That's my name?" Sam asked in confusion; she couldn't seem to remember anything.

"Yes," Jenifer frowned slightly wondering how to play this without scaring her, "You don't remember much do you?"

The blond head shook back and forth, and the blue eyes radiated confusion, so Jenifer elaborately began to lie a bit, "Well, Sam you have amnesia. You were visiting us, and um…hit your head."

"Oh," replied the girl sagely, seemingly accepting Keller's story.

"What's amnesia?" Larrin inquired tilting her head to one side.

Jenifer chuckled to herself before replying, "It's when you can't remember what happened exactly."

"Oh no," cried Sam, "I can't remember anything! Will I ever remember again?"

Smiling Jen clarified coolly, "Of course you'll remember, but it'll take some time. Now why don't you both get dressed and I'll take you to the mess for breakfast. I'm sure both of you would like to get out for a while."

Keller handed both Sam and Larrin a pair of pants and a small t-shirt; it was lucky the Daedalus outfitted the supply room with children's clothes just in case they needed to share with any allies or refugees they might assist.

Once dressed, Jenifer led the two girls out of the infirmary, holding on to each child's hand firmly, so as not to lose track of either one.

Atlantis Mess:

Keller led the two girls into the mess and over to the service line, earning quite a few stares from curious expedition members, though the girls were oblivious to it all. The story of their leader's run-in with the device spread around the city like lightening; a tribute to the city's prolific rumor mill.

Now, they watched the results, stealing glances from their respective spots in the mess, only to look away whenever Keller met their eye.

However, Jenifer was not able to glare at the watchers for long, as the two girls must have secretly decided to be as big of a nuisance as possible.

"Aunt Jenifer," asked Sam excitedly, "What are we doing today? Something fun?"

"Yeah," Larrin picked right up, "Can we do something exciting. Yesterday was too boring, and everyone was so serious."

"Well," replied Jenifer thoughtfully, "Let's see what the others think."

She led the two girls over to her usual breakfast group with them following behind her like little ducks following their mother.

Jenifer set own tray down next to Teyla, who greeted her pleasantly, "Good morning Jenifer."

Sam and Larrin also set their trays down at the table as well, Larrin looked up expectantly at Teyla, who amended her comment, "And good morning to you Larrin and you Sam."

Larrin looked satisfied and began to dig into her hash-browns, another delicacy Keller pointed out to her. Sam, conversely, still was angry she did not recognize anyone at the table apologized, "I'm sorry, but I don't remember any of you."

Eager to show off her knowledge offered some introductions excitedly, "The really tall one is Uncle Ronon; he's a great story teller," this earned several raised eyebrows which Ronon squashed with flashing eyes.

"And sitting next to him, eating a massive pile of food," Larrin continued completely nonplused, "Is Uncle Rodney; he's kind of mean, but doesn't really mean it."

Now Ronon smirked heartily in McKay's direction, much to the chagrin of Rodney.

"But where is Uncle John?" Larrin asked in confusion, she had not really seen him since the Jumper Ride, and she found him so interesting for some reason.

"Ha, even the little ladies still have a thing for them," remarked McKay smugly, only to cry out in pain as Ronon elbowed him.

"That was uncalled for," whined the scientist through a mouthful of food.

"No it wasn't." Ronon argued as he stole a hash brown from McKay's plate, and dipped it into his ketchup.

"John needed to take care of some work this morning," Teyla answered, ignoring the arguing guys, "I'm sure he'll make time for you later."

Suddenly standing up, Rodney announced, "Well I'm going to get back to work, if you catch my drift."

Ronon also stood, locking eyes with Teyla as if to say, I'm not watching them now.

Thus both teammates quickly gathered their trays and deserted the mess before Keller or Teyla could quash their plans.

"Actually," Jen said casually, "I need to get back to the infirmary because I have some test results running that I need to analyze and stuff."

"You wish to avoid," Teyla dipped her head in the general direction of the girl while they ate unawares, "As well. I see. Very well, good luck finding what you seek."

"Thank you," Keller expressed a little too enthusiastically; after all she had had the little ones under her care all night and greatly desired a break.

Teyla, knowing she had plans already, gazed about in search of a proper replacement; after all Sam, while still her normal self, expressed a desire to not have just anyone watch over Larrin. The Athosian suspected the same rules applied for the child version of Sam as well. Spying a promising candidate, Teyla flagged him over rising to greet him.

_--tbc--_

_Reviews are like candy! Yummy and delicious. I hope you like this so far._


	5. Chapter 5

Transposed Part 5

Atlantis Mess:

"You want me to what?" Evan asked in utter surprise. Of all the things he had been expecting to do today, this had not been one of them. At. All.

Teyla smiled sweetly at him cooing persuasively, "They need someone to keep an eye on them and as Ronon disappeared after breakfast, Rodney must continue trying to find a way to reverse the device, Radek is assisting Rodney, and Jenifer has other duties in the infirmary. I hoped you would be a willing substitute."

Lorne looked down at the two girls, who continued to finish up their breakfast. Teyla had called out to him as he passed by in the mess, and now they stood discussing the matter a few feet from the table; just far enough not to be overheard.

"But what are you doing?" Evan asked, still trying to avoid babysitting duty.

Teyla sighed, "I must meet my weekly meditation class in the gym in ten minutes. Unless you would be willing to lead that, I think it would be counterproductive to bring Sam and Larrin along with me."

"And Colonel Sheppard can't?" Lorne tried in a last ditch effort, knowing that before Sam's accidental reversal, specifically stated that she did not want Larrin handed off to just anyone, due to her being a head of "state" and all.

The Athosian nodded understandingly and answered, "John requested some quiet work time this morning to take care of some duties Colonel Carter would normally attend to."

"Of course he did," Lorne sulked, mentally wrapping his mind around the fact he was "it" in the proverbial Tag game of kid-sitting.

"However," Teyla continued with a small smile, "He did agree to take over mid-morning."

"Great," the major replied with a roll of his eyes. He waved goodbye to Teyla and sat down next to the girls. He had yet to spend any real time with them, and hoped that they would warm up to him fairly easily; otherwise it was going to be an awkward few hours.

Thinking that they both probably would be more cooperative once they worked off some energy, the quick thinking Major reasoned some time-honored games wouldn't hurt, and asked playfully, "Either of you played Simon Says before?"

Atlantis Carter's Office:

Often, John wondered if the 'Powers that Be' slapped a big target on his head, and took turns taking pot-shots at him.

Like now, he was stuck in command while Sam was indisposed, which was a slight change from the usual life-threatening and often deadly pursuits. Still, being chained to a desk all day was not his ideal job, and right now he was reaching his limit to how many reports he could read and digest.

Fortunately, his current perusal of another techno-babble filled report was interrupted by the arrival of Major Lorne. John looked up to see the harried Major enter the office with both Sam and Larrin in tow, obviously fed up with the task of watching them.

"Sir," greeted Evan as he plopped down into one of the comfy chairs Sam preferred in her office, "I believe my time was up two hours ago on the 'Sitting' front."

John smiled, taking in his second in command's worn-out appearance. "Right, Major. Didn't Teyla pass guardianship over to you after breakfast?

"Yes since then we've played Simon Says, Hide and Seek, Freeze Tag, Red-Light-Green-Light, and then I broke out the coloring stuff. I'm all out of ideas," the Major threw up his hands in mock defeat.

Thankfully, the two girls in question seated themselves out of the way, on the floor and were currently occupied with some notepads and finger-paints.

"Finger-paints?" John asked amused, knowing only Evan would keep any real quantity of art supplies out of all his men.

"Yes sir," replied Lorne rather proud of himself, "I figured they would stay quiet that way while you worked."

The smile left John's face completely as his face fell, "Wait, why is it my turn? Now?"

"Sorry sir," said the Major standing up, "Dr. Keller needed to complete post-mission checks, Ronon was nowhere to be found, Teyla was teaching a class in the gym, and Dr. McKay claimed he was too busy. "

"So it jumped to my turn?" John huffed, realizing he would get even less done now, sullenly reiterating, "Because you have a mission to prepare for. Aright, you're dismissed Major." He waved Lorne off as he said under his breath, "For now."

Getting up from behind the desk, John walked over and sat down on the floor next to the two girls, who wasted no time in sharing their paper and paints.

Atlantis Control Room:

As a gate technician from the initial arrival into the city, Chuck had witnessed a plethora of strange sights running the gamut from spectacular arrivals, to deformed teammates, to barely clothed teams, to unexpected and repulsive gifts-overtures from off-world cultures.

However, when he happened to glance in the general direction of Colonel Carter's office, a completely hilarious sight met his gaze. Presently, Colonel Sheppard was decorating the glass walls enclosing Colonel Carter's office with finger paints; and joining him in the endeavor were little Larrin and Sam.

Chuck laughed to himself at how Carter would react once McKay returned her to her normal form; he doubted she would keep her new office decorations.

Whipping out his handy digital camera, Chuck deftly documented the event just in case. He rationalized some anonymous posting on the city's discussion boards wouldn't hurt anyone.

Atlantis:

Somehow Jenifer got roped into keeping an eye on the girls after lunch. It was not that she did not wish to look after them, it was just strange. Strange pretending to be an aunt to one's boss, strange to be looking after a highly independent allied leader; Jenifer was just slightly bothered by the situation completely.

Presently, the two girls were absorbed with decorating a paper kite. Again, Major Lorne had shown a unique creative streak by fashioning some kites for the pair of them. Using them to fuel the current distraction, she had taken the pair, at Teyla's suggestion out to the east pier. As she colored with the girls, a shadow fell over them, and Jenifer looked up to see Teyla.

"Might I join you?" Teyla asked politely, beaming down at the girls.

"Auntie Teyla," the two squealed in excitement as they scooted over to make room for her around their kites.

"I must confess," began Teyla good naturedly, "I have never flown a kite. John has mentioned them before, and when I heard Evan made some for the girls, I thought I'd join you to see for myself."

"Ah yes," agreed Jenifer, "Kite's are a classic childhood activity. I wonder though, why neither of them joined us. I figured of all people they, as pilots, would love to make things fly."

"Well," began Teyla glancing significantly at the two little heads bent over their work, "Since the Colonel needed to step up recently, he has been swamped with extra duties."

"Ah, and the Major is helping of course," Jenifer agreed good-naturedly.

Meanwhile Sam and Larrin colored peacefully on their kites. Sam was in the process of adding a large smiley face on her kite, while Larrin was drawing a bird.

"Can you pass the blue one?" Sam queried as she worked to put on the finishing touches of her kite design. Now all she needed to do was name the craft. Some inner voice told her that all flying objects needed to be named; it was the same principle as ships too.

"Yeah sure. Are you ready yet?" Larrin asked impatiently, excited to fly her kite. Sam was proving to be a very good friendly though, as they were both similar to each other in many ways.

"Okay!" Sam replied good-naturedly, happy to have someone as enthusiastic as Larrin to play with.

After a few minutes of faltering, the girls managed to cast their kites into the sky. Due to the quality breeze blowing across the pier, the kites took off easily into the sky, flying high and gracefully.

Cries of "Look at mine go!"and "Wow, they are so pretty up there," filled the air, complimented with the girls' laughter.

The innocent fun was not to last as another headache swiftly cut in to ruin the fun. Only Larrin was the lucky recipient this time. Jenifer noticed the change first as Larrin, positioning herself at the girl's side, just in case.

Communicating silently with Teyla, Jenifer subtly maneuvered Larrin further down the pier, while Teyla mirrored the action, creating enough space in between each pair as to allow for private discussion.

"What's going on?" Larrin asked in confusion, another jump in memory, and more blanks for her to fill in. She was really starting to dislike the whole situation.

"Oh, you know," Jenifer began nonchalantly, "The usual stuff. You switch back and forth between an adult memory and a child one; but don't worry it's not dangerous enough to harm you permanently."

"Wonderful," replied Larrin sarcastically.

Over in the other corner Sam, puzzled by her playmate's strange behavior, asked, "Auntie Teyla, why does Larrin not like me all of a sudden? Did I do something wrong?"

Thinking quickly she responded, "No, Larrin just needed some space. Do not worry; I am sure your friend will be back over to play eventually."

Shrugging her shoulders, and refocusing on the act of flying her kite, Sam replied, "Okie dokie!"

Atlantis Rec. Room:

Later that evening the torch had been passed to Ronon, and in an event to keep the two little ones occupied, he enlisted the help of Radek in setting up a movie for the three of them to watch.

Radek had even gone so far as to help pick out the movie, recommending the gag gift General O'Neil had sent through a while ago: "Atlantis the Lost Empire."

While most had found it amusing, in a fairly sick way, the movie fulfilled the present need for a child-appropriate film. Initially the girls' laughter filled the room, but the days' events had finally caught up with the girls, and both were sleeping peacefully curled up next to the Satedan. Only when the girls were completely asleep, did Ronon allow his boredom to win out, and rest as well.

Atlantis Rec. Room: Later

Sometime later Teyla poked her head into the recreational room hoping to find Ronon and the girls. To her surprise she grinned to herself at the sight of the three nestled together on the couch; the movie's DVD menu playing continuously in the background. As she stood there grinning, she felt another sidle up next to her.

"So, uh, how do you want to work this?" Whispered John from beside her, smirking slightly at the sight before them, "They can't very well stay in the infirmary again."

"I suppose they might stay the night in my quarters. I believe you call it a sleep-over?" Teyla asked softly, a smile playing on her lips.

"Great," replied John before entering the room. He walked up behind the runner and whispered right in his ear, "Ronon."

The effect was instantaneous as the Satedan jerked forward involuntarily, however not quite enough to wake the girls. Tilting his head backwards to stair up at the speaker, Ronon's eyes locked with John, "Sheppard. Finally!"

"Whoa, easy there buddy," John began holding up his hands in a cautioning manner, "We need to get them to Teyla's room. She offered to keep them for the night."

Scooping up Sam, Ronon stood up, daring John to question his choice. John just sighed in annoyance, and picked up Larrin—hoping that if she awoke, she would not remember this moment.

Atlantis Teyla's Quarters:

Just after getting the girls into bed, on the portable cots Teyla had previously arranged in her quarters, the Athosian was drawn back over by a whispered, "Teyla?"

The voice belonged to neither John nor Ronon, because they left several minutes before.

Teyla walked back from the bathroom and towards the source of the voice; it was Sam.

But it was not the little Sam they had put to bed several minutes before. No the intelligence behind the piercing blue eyes belonged to the genius astrophysicist, the long time member of SG-1, the current leader of Atlantis, and one of Teyla's newest and dear friends.

"Sam," Teyla whispered back, glancing down at the sleeping form of Larrin, "We should go somewhere we can talk."

Sam nodded and followed Teyla out onto the balcony attached to her quarters, and stated with a frown, "I take it McKay didn't quite find a way to turn it off?"

Teyla shook her head sadly, "No, the device was set only to turn females into a child-like state."

"Oh," replied Sam as she put two and two together, "So when nothing happened to him or Zelenka, they assumed it was off."

"Yes, and you happened to get too close," finished Teyla, noting the looking frustration on Sam's face as she ran a hand through her blond hair.

"So, have they come up with anything yet?" Sam asked grasping at whatever straws she could.

"No," replied Teyla solemnly, "They are still working to fix it so that you and Larrin might be returned to your normal state."

For a moment Teyla watched as Sam absorbed the new information, obviously displeased with what she had heard.

"Why do I suddenly remember who I am and what happened? When Larrin was brought to us she displayed all signs of a child-like mentality," Sam mused, the mental cogs whirring as her mind tried to work out what was happening to her.

"Jenifer determined that your consciousness will waver between two states: one of a child, and your present one that includes all of your memories, the adult one. She also said that these changes in state will be marked by a sudden headache that dissipates soon after the shift," explained Teyla gently.

Frowning Sam asked warily, "Is it dangerous?"

Teyla shook her head, "Jenifer assured us that there would be no lasting damage."

"Alright," smiled Sam finally, "I guess we just have to ride this out until Rodney comes up with something."

Smiling back at her friend, Teyla replied comfortingly, "Yes Rodney and Radek are taking care of restoring you to your proper form. Colonel Sheppard and Major Lorne are keeping the base running as smooth as possible."

"Good," she half smiled before frowning slightly Sam cautioned with a look of unnatural seriousness on her childish face, reminiscent of her older and dominant self, "But we must make sure nobody else falls victim to this device. I'm sure we can hardly afford to deal with another child running loose."

Atlantis McKay's Lab:

Even though Jenifer could hardly fathom why McKay needed her when she hardly knew anything about Ancient technology, she still responded to his summons. Hopefully he had unearthed something that would help them restore the two"kidified" leaders to their old selves.

Sauntering lightly, Jenifer crossed the threshold into Rodney's lab and called out, "Okay what did you need me for McKay?"

The head of the man in question popped up from behind the lab table on which the troublesome device rested, hooked up to various monitors and laptops. Curious Jenifer asked motioning to the cables and wires, "What's all this for?"

"Oh that," replied McKay as he gestured to the gear, "It's taking readings of power levels, searching through the device's memory, decoding command codes, and sifting through past sessions. You know, it actually keeps a record of how it was last used?"

"That's so interesting Rodney," Jenifer rolled her eyes sarcastically, "I'm so glad you called me down here."

"Yes well I need your advice," admitted Rodney. As much as he did not want to regard medicine as an actual science, he needed a medical brain to pick at the moment. "Um right, so I need you to look at this set of data and tell me what it means to you."

"Right," said Jenifer slowly, doubting just how much she could help, but still took the tablet Rodney held out to her.

Focusing in on the text, the doctor lost her awareness of her surroundings as she read, commenting distractedly, "These are brain chemistry results."

"Crap, that's what Radek thought," exclaimed McKay in frustration, "Great he wins that bet!"

However just as Rodney finished his thought, Jenifer leaned against the lab table behind her out of habit, barely brushing up against the device with her back.

"JENIFER, NO!" Rodney shouted, trying to stave off the inevitable. Yet it was to no avail, a blinding white light enveloped the Doctor, just like it had done with Sam and presumable Larrin as well.

All too soon it dissipated; leaving Rodney to cringe inwardly, Sheppard was so going to kill him for letting it happen again. The first time, he could pass it off as a mistake, but twice was just stupidity on his part.

Now there were THREE little girls to be minded, it was almost a club now!

_--tbc--_

_Reviews are kind and wonderful, but not life or death worthy._


	6. Chapter 6

Transposed Part 6

Atlantis Infirmary:

And then there were three. In theory, McKay really should have learned the first time because allowing one friend to fall victim to the device was dumb, but twice was just stupidity on his part. One second Jenifer was perfectly normal, the next she looked like a sweater that had been washed on hot, instead of normal sized, it had shrunk to where it would fit a hand puppet. Keller was now the size of a five year old, although her uniform had magically shrunk to fit her as well. Although, Jenifer's hair was a good deal blonder and Rodney wondered if it just naturally darkened as she aged or what. Dismissing those thoughts he returned to more practical matters at hand.

Presently, Rodney was sitting next to the still form of Jenifer Keller trying to come up with a reasonable explanation because in all actuality, Sheppard was going to kill him.

"MCKAY!" Rodney cringed as his earpiece practically exploded. No, the Colonel was far from "not happy" because he was down-right livid sounding. Knowing how dangerous an angry Sheppard could be, brought all of the man's capabilities into sharp relieve.

Still, stubborn to his last breath, McKay replied dismissively, "Yes. What now?"

"Where are you?" Sheppard seethed over the com unit, "Because you are not in your lab. Funny I got a call from Dr. Biro staying something happened to Dr. Keller. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"

"Me," Rodney faltered a bit, "What accident? How is it my fault if someone can't stay the proper distance away from certain troublesome ancient objects."

"YOU LET HER GET CLOSE ENOUGH TO TOUCH IT?" There was little holding back the angry tirade coming McKay way, and people said HE had anger issues.

"Well, not on purpose," replied Rodney weakly as he visibly squirmed in his chair. Staring down at the still form of a five year old version of the Child Medical Officer did nothing to assuage his guilt.

"Rodney," by now John seemed to have composed himself somewhat, but that did not diminish the deathly cold undercurrent of anger, "So there are three of them now?"

McKay tried the noncommittal and drawn out, "Maybe."

However that was only greeted by silence on the other end; cold, deadly silence, "Okay fine. I screwed up okay? Yes there are three of them now!"

"Do you see why I'm upset by this?" Sheppard queried in feigned patience, "Look FIX it before anyone else falls victim, and SOON."

Rodney looked back down at Jenifer, tiny and helpless looking. Coming to a decision, he left the infirmary determined not to let anything come in the way of putting the three women back to rights as soon as possible.

Atlantis Infirmary:

Marie was not head of any particular department, nor did she strive to be, but in her own right she was a darn good physician. In her eyes, she was completely content to play the role of second banana, a "go to" girl to Dr. Keller. She had all of the experience and strove to do her job with a dedication permitting her a well deserved spot on the expedition. Her natural cool head was well recognized and appreciated in the department, as hardly anything phased her too much; a good characteristic for a medical doctor stationed in another galaxy full of nasty buggers.

Usually nothing fazed her, but today was an exception. Seeing her boss reverted to a small child, completely unnerved her. The blood she could handle, because she knew given time and proper treatment, the patient would recover. This, this change in complete body structure puzzled her, because no amount of care on her part would set the Doctor to rights. Marie was completely helpless to save her.

Not that Marie would consider herself a friend of Dr. Keller. Actually, Jenifer strove to make all her staff feel welcome and at home, Marie had perfected the art of professional distance long ago, and was still adapting to Keller's leadership style. Even though Dr. Keller was far younger than Marie, she recognized the potential and intelligence the CMO possessed, making her a natural for the position.

Still, Marie found herself inexplicable drawn to the quiet young girl, watching over the child protectively, her thoughts centering on a memory from earlier,

--

_Dr. McKay rushed into the infirmary, carrying a small body, unlike the two leaders from earlier. Marie, having helped earlier, immediately ushered the frazzled astrophysicist to an enclosed area to receive his 'package.' In a matter of moments the man babbled out the entire incident._

"_It was an accident!" McKay explained frantically as he paced back and forth beside the bed, "I wasn't my fault, she just got too close! Sheppard's going to kill me!"_

_Remembering one of the cardinal rules of patient care, Marie attempted to calm the scientist down, "Dr. McKay calm down. Please. Now, are you saying that this is Dr. Keller?"_

"_Are you blind?" Rodney questioned in disbelief as he rambled on, "Of course this is Dr. Keller. She interrupted my work and got too close. It's all her fault really, she wasn't paying attention."_

"_Of course Dr. McKay," Marie soothed as she hooked up the tiny version of her boss, in preparation to run some tests._

"_But she'll be okay, right? Just like the others," choked out McKay, his voice raising an octave or two._

_Recognizing that it was time to get the anxious man out from underfoot, Marie replied placating the man, "Look Dr. McKay, I need to run some tests, but I am pretty confident that if the same machine did this to Dr. Keller then she will be just as healthy as the others. Now, why don't you go wait out in the main area for a bit? I'll come get you when I'm done."_

_Thankfully, the scientist accepted her plan, and positioned himself just around the corner from Jenifer's bed, for the time being. _

_--_

Thinking back, Marie chuckled at the fact McKay stayed at Jenifer's bedside as long as he did. It was only some disciplinary action from Colonel Sheppard that Dr. McKay released he need to focus his attentions elsewhere.

Still, Marie could not help but fuss over her boss, well the little child that was her boss, the girl lying on the bed that she found herself inexplicably drawn to help. Reaching in to check the child's temperature Marie mused thoughtfully, thinking back to how confused Jenifer was when she first came to.

--

_Removing the sensors from the girl's temples, Marie had just finished monitoring her brain activity, resulted in Jenifer finally waking up._

_Confused eyes took a moment to focus before settling on Marie. Tilting her head to one side in confusion Jenifer asked groggily, "Where am I? What happened?"_

_Wanting to see exactly what her tiny patient remembered, Marie replied kindly, "What do you remember?"_

"_Not much. I remember my dad. Is he here? Where is here? Who are you?" The questions came rapid fire from the young female, who by now, sat up straight and tall as she anxiously awaited answers._

"_Well," began Marie, wracking her brains for a good cover story, "Your dad needed to go on a business trip and you are visiting your, um, Uncle John and Ronon, Aunt Teyla, and Uncle Rodney. But, you had an accident and hit your head."_

"_Oh," the little girl replied thoughtfully, "Do I have amnesia?"_

_Laughing at the astute question, Marie thought about the brilliant doctor lurking somewhere in that little body, and replied, "Yes, something like that. But don't worry, you'll remember more and you are with friends."_

_This seemed to placate the girl and Jenifer yawned, saying, "Friends."_

_Minutes later the girl was asleep, still tied from the change that she did not know had taken place._

_--_

Soon Marie found her thoughts interrupted by the timely arrival of Teyla, who had called earlier expressing her intent to watch over the girl. "Is Jenifer ready, Doctor?"

Composing herself quickly Marie replied, "Yes her scans came back completely clean like the others. She is well enough to roam around the city, and now she is awake."

"Wonderful," Teyla responded with a knowing smile as she walked over to the girl sitting on one of the infirmary beds, "Jenifer, would you like to go meet some friends?"

Jenifer cocked her head to one side, as if in contemplation, and asked quietly, "Are they nice?"

Frowning, Teyla wondered at the cause of Jen's hesitant behavior, but rationale that she just must have been more reserved as a child. True the adult Jenifer was quiet at times, slightly unsure of her abilities; she was still very strong in her interactions with others when needed. Yes, Jenifer still needed to find herself still. Intending to reassure the child, Teyla promised, "They are perfectly nice, and I promise you will have a great deal of fun."

Slowly nodding, Jenifer showed her agreement and hopped off the bed to grab Teyla's hand as the older woman led her out of the infirmary.

Atlantis Gym:

Funny how a bunch of military men and woman, marines and air force, civilian scientist and civilian medical personnel could come together for a friendly game of dodge ball. Sure the biggest and fastest marines were fought over because of size, and sure the scientist squabbled over tactics, but in the end two teams emerged ready and willing to relieve some stress through a friendly game.

Currently a third of the city's population, who were off-duty, gathered together in the gym's largest room to wait for a little dodge ball. These games were legendary themselves. Who could forget the time Zelenka had magically caught the ball to get Major Lorne's team out when he had been out numbered seven to one?

Or the time when Dr. Weir had been roped into playing and ended up giving Colonel Sheppard a black eye? Nobody had been expecting that? (Nobody let him live it down for a week afterwards either).

Today, everyone gathered for a little friendly dodge ball, not only because they wanted to play, but because of several little guests. Initially the situation had been hushed up, but the Atlantis Grapevine squashed that attempt fairly quickly, and now everyone was in the loop regarding the situation of Colonel Carter, Dr. Keller, and the Traveler leader Larrin.

This did not diminish their expectations of a good game whatsoever. Today's teams were lead by the two captains: Ronon and Major Lorne. Lately Ronon's team had dominated the intramural competition, and Lorne hoped to halt that winning streak.

Staring each other down, on one side Ronon had amassed a team based on skill and speed, many from his advanced training classes. There were a few who begged to be part of the Runner's team, but out of the ten total teammates eight had been hand-picked.

The intramural league started up after a Saturday night showing of "Dodgeball", with the rules taken from the National Amateur Dodgeball Association website.

Lorne, on the other hand, seemed to favor size as well, for many of his team consisted of large and muscular marines.

Today, however, the rules were bent slightly to allow the trio to play. Actually, Jenifer did not wish to play, so she chose to follow John around as he took a turn playing the role of official. Thus Jenifer began a Mini-official.

Ronon claimed Sam to his team, and Evan adopted Larrin for the game.

Blowing a whistle, John signaled for either team to line up on their respective sides of the "court."

Jenifer ran back to his side after adjusting the final balls and mock saluted him, "All set Uncle John!"

"Remember no head shots, and be careful _where_ you are throwing those balls, we don't want to hurt anyone," cautioned John in a drawling voice, "And, just have some fun. It's a game people."

With two toots on the whistle the game was on!

Balls flew everywhere, some high, some low, and some painfully fast. Soon even some of the best guys were out, but the small size of both Larrin and Sam allowed them to remain active. They also picked similar strategies of throwing at the feet, catching some of the taller guys off guard as they stooped in an attempt to catch the ball.

Finally, Larrin was hit in the melee and taken out. She cheered her team on from the side lines until there were only three: Ronon and Sam versus Lorne.

Recognizing that it was only a matter of time before Ronon nailed him, Evan took a more chivalrous way and accidentally on purpose took one of Sam's throws right in the stomach.

Cheers erupted from both sides, for who could resist the charm of such young players?

Atlantis Halls to Rodney's Lab:

"Trust me girls," John called cheerily as he led them through the halls of Atlantis later that day, "You're going to love this game."

Practically bouncing next to him, Sam asked energetically, "What kind of game?"

"Yeah," squealed Jen, "You always have the best games Uncle John."

"We," emphasized John smugly, "Are going to pay old Uncle Meredith a visit and I'm going to introduce you to some Pod-racer."

Devious as John was, he had only started to plan his revenge on McKay for his latest mishap, i.e. Jenifer's accident. So now he planned on sharing Rodney's real name, after all kids can be quite cruel once they latch onto a name one doesn't wish to be called. Operation Meredith was only the tip of the iceberg.

Not missing a beat, Larrin asked, "What's Pod-racer?"

"Remember those video games I showed you girls on the laptop?" John asked patiently, ushering them into a transporter before pressing their destination, allowing the transporter to whisk them off to another part of the city.

"Yeah," they replied in unison, staring up at him expectantly.

"Well, in Uncle Meredith's Lab, he has a giant screen where we can play a much better game," John explained, "You get to race difference space craft around."

"Cool," was the collective response.

"Who's Uncle Meredith? Have we met him? Is he nice? Or is he kind of mean, like Uncle Rodney? But Meredith is a girls name!" Came a litany of questions from the three after they remembered where they were headed; it was exciting for them to go meet a "new" playmate.

Chuckling to himself at the brilliance of it all, John replied smugly, "Yep, you've met Uncle Meredith. See Uncle Rodney hates his first name, which is Meredith."

It took a minute for the trio to understand what he meant before they erupted excitedly, "Oh so we get to annoy him about it? Uncle Rodney's real name is _Meredith_? But it's such a girly name? Why didn't he tell us before?"

And so on and so on, they only stopped when they reached the entrance to McKay's lab. John led them in silently, when as silent as they were ever going to be; they snickered all the while.

"What are YOU doing here?" McKay asked in frustration, obviously displeased at the sight of the intruders. He, after all, was absorbed with trying to fix this mess, even if they didn't know it.

"Hi Uncle Meredith," the girls chorused enthusiastically.

Paling visibly, McKay asked angrily of John, "What did you tell them?"

"Oh nothing," John replied coolly, voice dripping in sarcasm, "Just the truth of course. Come on, leave Uncle Meredith be. We're just going over here to use the big monitor for some games."

Narrowing his eyes and glaring at Sheppard, Rodney replied caustically, "Sure, just barge into my lab, interrupt my work, and presume you can just use my gaming system."

"Exactly……Meredith," John taunted before ushering the girls around the corner into the "office" area of McKay's lab where he kept all of his goodies.

After explaining the basics of the game, and playing a few rounds, John left the girls and wandered back over to where McKay was. He was right in thinking that some harmless video games would keep the trio occupied for a while, after all it worked so well back home at keeping kids entertained for hours.

"How's it coming McKay?" John asked in all seriousness, leaning casually up against a lab table, now that they could talk.

However, the scientist blatantly ignored the question, "Is that the wind I hear?"

"Oh come on Rodney," drawled John, "You had that one coming to you after that last 'accident'."

"It wasn't entirely my fault that Keller got too close!" McKay defended passionately.

"Right," John replied smugly, "So what have you figured out? Can you reverse them yet?"

"You, Colonel have been hanging around obnoxious little girls too long and are picking up their annoying habits!" Rodney stated forcefully.

"Well," Sheppard said pinching the bridge of his nose, "You know how much I like being in charge. The soon Sam is back to normal the better. We all know she's the best one to command."

"You sell yourself short," admitted Rodney in a rare sign of open friendliness before qualifying it, "But don't let that go to your head. Besides I'm almost there. I know how to recalibrate the device to turn them back into adults, I just need to fix some power problems and run some simulations."

"Then we can have our normal Sam, Jenifer, and Larrin back."

Unknowingly to the two guys, three heads poked around the corner in wonderment at the last statement. Questions spun around like wildfire in their brains; what happened to them and what was "normal"?

--

Quickly sitting back down in front of the game system, although the game was temporarily forgotten, the trio of girls looked to one another in awe as what they overheard washed over them.

"Normal?" Jenifer squeaked in confusion, eyes wide with apprehension as she looked at her companions.

Meanwhile, Larrin shook her head smugly as she stated, "I knew something was wrong. Even with Uncle Cauls, and then being dropped off here."

"Yeah," agreed Sam, "Everything feels so weird and different."

Jenifer, ever the realist amongst them, queried thoughtfully, "But what happened to us? Are we in danger?"

Something clicked in Sam's brain though, "Uncle John said he wished we were adults again. Did we shrink or something?"

"I guess some device did this, after all have you SEEN the cool and dangerous stuff in this city?" Larrin asked her companions, pointing out a valid argument; she after all noticed how different and advanced the city was in comparison to the ship Uncle Cauls ran.

"Question," Sam began hesitantly, unsure of voicing her thoughts, "Do you guys ever feel like sometimes you don't always know what's going on? Like there is a gap or something in your memory?"

Larrin nodded in agreement, relieved someone else shared that feeling too, "Yeah, I feel like sometimes I remember what's going on, and then sometimes I can't remember what I did for a while."

"Yeah, I haven't really felt like that, but the whole thing is weird," Jenifer agreed falling silent. Actually the trio all sat in quiet contemplation at what they overheard, trying to wrap their minds around the new information.

"But what did Uncle John mean by that?" Sam asked in frustration breaking the quiet spell. There were still so many questions they craved answers to, but the problem was addressing the subject that they knew the 'grown-ups' wanted to keep secret from them.

"What did I mean by what?" John asked cheerfully rounding the corner to where the trio was seated, causing them to jump as his entrance.

Quickly covering the awkward moment, Larrin gestured to the game, "We didn't know how you did that one power up thingy."

"Here," John answered cheerfully, dropping his innocent question to the relief of the three girls, "I'll show you and we can go to dinner after that."

Little did John realize that the trio knew more than they let on, choosing to hide their new insight for the time being, contemplating just what it might mean.

Atlantis Balcony:

In the evening John decided that the trio needed to see the stars, and he took them to his favorite balcony. It was apart from the main living area of the city, and he doubted very much that many others had found the place.

Sitting together, feet dangling over the edge of the railing, Sam mulled over what she'd overheard earlier and decided to bring it up, "Uncle John?"

"Yes."

"What was I like as an adult?" she asked hesitantly looking in his direction.

John turned his head sharply in her direction, but after a moment of indecision asked, "What do you mean?"

Sam swallowed and said nervously, "Well, when you took us to play in Uncle Meredith's lab, we might have overheard you talking."

John chuckled at the 'Meredith' because it had been his idea to get the girls to call Rodney that. McKay was probably still fuming from earlier, but frowning again he asked seriously, "You were eavesdropping on us?"

Three guilty pairs of eyes immediately found locations other than him as they averted their eyes in shame.

Looking down at the trio, he saw the trust and confusion on their face, with a little fear and replied, "Yes, you three are usually as big as Uncle Rodney and me."

"But not Uncle Ronon," added Larrin giggling. "He's bigger than everyone!"

"True," said John smiling, "But yes, I can tell you what you are like I suppose."

"Oooo, me first! Me first!" cried Larrin anxiously.

"But I asked first," whined Sam.

Jenifer added excitedly, "Don't forget me!"

"Okay, okay," said John trying to calm them down, "Sam did ask first, Larrin so be patient, and I won't forget you either Jenifer."

He scooted backwards in order to lean up against the wall, and the three shifted towards him as well, staring up at him intently.

"Well," began John thoughtfully, "Sam, you are one of the smartest people I know, wise, and thoughtful. But you do know how to have fun when it's time. You don't let anyone get the better of you, and can hold your own in a fight."

"Ooooo, cool!" squeed Sam soaking in all of the information, eyes shining.

Looking at Larrin John continued, "Larrin you are a very strong woman. Sneaky at times, but always with your goal at heart because you are not afraid to do what it takes to get what you want. However, what you want is usually something that will benefit many, so it's a good thing."

"And last but certainly not least, Jen is incredibly smart, witty, and hardworking. You are completely dedicated to helping others, and even though you were hesitant at first, you are one tough cookie," John concluded.

The girls silently contemplated the information for a few glorious and silent minutes before ending the quiet.

"But what are our jobs? Like you and Uncle Ronon are soldiers, and Uncle Meredith is a scientist?" queried Jenifer practically.

"Leaders, you are both leaders. Sam leads the city as Expedition Leader, and Larrin commands a large ship full of her people. But Jenifer is our Chief Medical Officer," replied John.

"Oooh," cooed Jenifer excitedly, "I have a cool title."

"Oh, the ship I was on before Uncle Artur brought me here?" asked Larrin trying to understand.

"Yes," John answered.

Satisfied for the time being, they scooted over even more, and leaned up against John to look up at the stars—his original intention for bringing them out here.

But before the peace and calm could really settle, Larrin asked, "Were we pretty?"

John just groaned, wondering if this would ever end!

_--tbc--_

_Author's Note: There really IS a National Amateur Dodgeball Association website, in the US at least. I was looking to see how many players there should be, just to be slightly accurate in my game description, and help make it clearer. I thought it was kind of funny though that they have their own website!_


	7. Chapter 7

Transposed Part 7

Atlantis Teyla's Quarters:

They knew. It was like an itch, plaguing them in the night. Not one of the three could sleep. Not a wink.

Lying on her back, eyes boring into the ceiling, Larrin contemplated her predicament. _How much longer would this go on? Why did this have to happen to her? She was completely content running her ship; actually very busy running HER ship. This little wrinkle in her plans was not something she planned on. _

Sighing, Larrin fumed as she examined her memories from the last few days. Mostly, she remembered little, which could be attributed to the fact that her consciousness apparently shifted from her adult memories—her current state—to the memories she harbored in a five year old state. The whole thing was just bizarre to her, and she desperately wished for it to end.

"Larrin, are you awake?" A whispered voice broke Larrin's thoughts, and she propped herself up on one elbow to look at her companions. Samantha Carter stared back at her expectantly.

"What do you want?" Larrin asked defensively, tired though she was, she still put up her customary guard.

"Do you remember?" The tiny form of the Lantean leader asked her in all seriousness.

"Of course I remember!" Larrin replied dismissively, lying back down in a moody huff.

Sam, however, sat up, responded in another whisper, "But do you remember everything? All of your adult memories?"

Larrin growled her answer, "Yes."

Obviously satisfied with the reply as a window to continue, Sam continued, "Good. I thought as much, by both your tone and curt answers. You seem to be a great deal more tolerant as a child."

"Cute," Larrin countered sarcastically, tired of the conversation, "And your obviously keen intellect as an adult is spot on again."

Another voice cut in to interrupt the argument, "Oh both of you cut it out. Bickering and being short-tempered with each other will solve nothing."

"Oh forgive me Doctor if I am fed up with my situation. Let me know how you feel after spending more time in this state, since it's only been a little while for you," Larrin expressed bitterly, wishing the other two would just leave her to sulk in peace; Quiet peace.

Not giving up Jenifer locked eyes with Larrin and replied, "Look, I get you are fed up, but being cranky about it and sulking is bad for you. At least share a bit, it's not like we don't understand what you're going though."

Inwardly rolling her eyes in frustration, Larrin decided it really would not hurt, since they after all, had an inkling as to what she was dealing with, stated more civilly, "I hate these gaps in memory. I hate being in this body. But most of all, I want my ship and people back."

"It is unpleasant," a new voice joined them, "To be away from one's people. I completely understand how cut off you must feel."

"Evening Teyla," Sam greeted, "I hope we did not wake you."

The Athosian shook her head and sat down to form a circle with the trio, "I know how alone you felt, because I felt that way for some time after I left me people to come to Atlantis."

"You left your people? Why come here?" Larrin questioned in all honesty. The first time she met the Athosian she recognized that she was not the same as the rest of the Lanteans. Pegasus natives stuck out distinctly, no matter what they called their homeworld, when compared to the new inhabitants of Atlantis.

"I left my people because I believe I can achieve more for them here on Atlantis, than if I stayed with them. Since I arrived I have made many friends, but the beginning was difficult, so I understand how you feel," concluded Teyla serenely.

Oddly comforted, Larrin reluctantly apologized, "Sorry for lashing out. I am just so frustrated by this!"

Smiling in reply, Teyla proposed secretively, "I have an idea to help relieve some frustration, but we need to go somewhere else."

"A Field trip?" Sam asked playfully as she stood up.

Frowning slightly at the Earth term, "Yes, I believe that is what you call it."

Atlantis Nighttime:

Sam broke the quiet of the night first by asking, "What are we going exactly Teyla?"

"We, my dear friends," Teyla stated pleasantly as she led the trio down a deserted corridor, "Are going to make some comfort food and talk."

Larrin raised her eyebrows skeptically, "Talk? About what? About how we are trapped in these little bodies? About how much this situation is Not pleasant?"

"Oh stop complaining," Jenifer chided as they followed the much taller Athosian; being in such a small body provided a slight disadvantage.

Teyla led them to the deserted kitchen and Mess area. This time of night, the place was deserted. It was late enough that dinner had long been cleaned up, but still too early for the morning shift to start preparing the next day's breakfast.

Winding their way around the orderly kitchen, Teyla ushered them to a secluded work station, complete with oven, refrigerator, supply cabinet, and sink. Placing a rectangular card on the counter, the trio scrambled up onto the bar stools conveniently placed nearby.

"Chocolate chip cookies?" Sam questioned with a wry grin.

Jenifer, however, moaned pleasantly, "Oh, that sounds wonderful. I haven't made any in ages."

"Um hello," Larrin's annoyed tones broke their pleasant reminiscing,"Somebody want to explain what we're doing here?"

"It's a delicious dessert that many people make back home," Sam clarified patiently, "Actually many people bake to relieve stress."

"So, that's why we're here," Jenifer complimented before asking, "But I didn't know you baked Teyla?"

"Well, Elizabeth brought me down here one stressful evening after I decided to stay permanently and introduced me to the wonders of chocolate chip cookie dough," Teyla explained solemnly, "It turned into a tradition of ours, and the cooks keep everything well stocked. Even now."

"Even now? What? Who's Elizabeth?" Larrin questioned after seeing the long faces of her companions.

Sam cleared her throat and explained kindly, "Dr. Elizabeth Weir was the original expedition leader, but sacrificed herself to save the city on an off-world mission with Colonel Sheppard's team."

"She was a dear friend, indeed," Teyla added, "She helped settle the expedition in the early stages when they first settled in the city."

"Oh." Larrin replied solemnly, wondering though, what happened exactly, but respecting the revered silence her companions displayed during the explanation.

"Anyway," Teyla began more cheerfully, "I thought we could make some cookie dough and just talk if you need to."

So they talked, about everything other than the fateful device. The funny thing about making cookie dough when one is stressed is the fact that usually, most of the dough is eaten before making its way into the oven. This idea certainly applied to these circumstances, because the group of woman proceeded to make their way through a rather large bowl of cookie dough while they wallowed in their predicament.

The timely interruption of Teyla's comm. unit broke the spell cast by the chocolate chip cookie dough.

"_Teyla, this is Rodney."_

"Yes Rodney, I'm here," replied the Athosian coolly, reigning in her extra enthusiasm to answer his call.

"_It's ready."_

Looking at the three heads, which immediately transfixed their attention on Teyla, she intoned cautiously, "Are you certain? Should I bring the girls now?"

"_Yes, yes, yes! I'm sure they don't want to spend any more time than necessary as children."_ McKay replied dramatically, emphasizing a point expressed earlier during the evening.

Children, speaking of them, Teyla focused again on the trio where Larrin suddenly clutched her head in pain, "Rodney, we will be there very soon. I think their transition between mental states is happening too frequently."

As she finished speaking Sam also clutched her head, a telltale sign of the mental state alteration.

"Guys, are you okay?" Jenifer asked, putting her hand on Sam's back in concern.

But karma seemed to declare it time for all of them to revert back to their mini mentalities. Teyla noted how each one, now seemed to look around them in confusion.

Sam was the first to ask in wonderment, "What happened? How did we get here?"

Sighing, Teyla explained, "You reverted to your adult memories, but now switched back."

"This is so weird!" Jenifer exclaimed in frustration, smashing a cookie to bits.

"I have good news though," replied Teyla soothingly, "Uncle Rodney believes he fixed the device that did this to you. Would you like to be big again?"

Hopping off her stool in excitement, Larrin drawled, "Would we ever? Let's go."

Atlantis McKay's Lab:

"This should do it," proclaimed McKay dramatically, as he looked up from his data pad at the small group gathered in his lab. In addition to Radek and McKay, John, Ronon, and Lorne had arrived expectantly. Still, the fact that it was the middle of the night dampened their patience to some degree.

Still doubting the nature of the device slightly, John asked, "Are you sure you've re-set the thing correctly? Positive? Don't be messing with my hopes here."

"What, are you sick of children Sheppard?" Rodney jibbed smugly, "Or do you just want Sam back so she can take over "leading" again?"

Narrowing his eyes, but not taking the bait, John replied, "No more sick of them than you, but them I can change, you not so much."

"Oh, well yeah fine, it's ready," dismissed Rodney, ignoring the insult.

Moments later, Teyla entered with the three girls in tow. Sam, Larrin, and Jenifer looked excitedly at the device, anxious to see if it would work.

"Are we going be big again?" asked Sam curiously looking at the device.

"Yes," replied Rodney as he waved towards the device with the free hand that was not clutching his data pad, "All you have to do it touch it."

The three girls looked at each other, walked up to Rodney, and threw their arms around him. Surprised at the hug McKay patted their heads, each in turn, a little uncertainly, and coughed before stating awkwardly, "Okay, okay your welcome. Go touch it already, you all would never hug me normally!"

Still, the three held back for just a moment and wore looks that expressed a good deal of gratitude towards their temporary guardians. It was Sam, though, who put it into actual words as she thanked them all, "Thanks for looking after us!"

Sam looked at Larrin, and Larrin turned to Jen who proclaimed excitedly reaching her hand out over the device, "On the count of three….."

"One…" Sam continued the pattern, allowing her hand to hover right next to Jenifer's.

"Two…." Larrin said confidently as she thrust her hand out as well.

"THREE!" They cried together and dropped their hands to touch the device.

Immediately a bright while light enveloped the trio, everyone else in the room averted their eyes because of its intensity. The seconds ticked by at an agonizingly slow pace, but finally the light dissipated. Left in its wake, they saw the petite, albeit normal forms of the three women, lying on the floor of the lab.

Each looked exactly as they remembered, due to McKay's breakthrough in his understanding of the device. He finally was able to manipulate the settings to return each person exactly as they had been before activating the device.

Sam, with her hair pulled back in a messy bun was wearing the same expedition jacket she had one when she touched the device the first time. Larrin's long wavy brown hair cascaded around her, and she looked exactly as they remembered her, from the leather shirt to tall boots. Jenifer was also dressed in her expedition uniform and her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail.

All seemed back to normal, unconscious, but normal nonetheless!

Atlantis Balcony:

After regaining consciousness and getting checked out in the infirmary—which took most of the day—Larrin first demanded the particulars of what transpired. They willingly filled her in, because she was the most out of the loop, and she was released under the supervision of an escort. However, knowing better, she accepted it for what it was; a guard assigned for the remainder of her stay in the city.

Needing to gather her thoughts, and deal with the flickering memories of the last few days, Larrin's subconscious led her to a little used balcony. Her guard respectfully gave her the space she needed, waiting at the door inside.

Atlantis:

After finally leaving the infirmary, Sam retreated to the comforting solitude of her quarters. A nice, long and hot shower helped to calm her nerves and release some of the built up tension from the last few days.

Finding herself turning into a little kid, living in that body, and finally being restored was trying. Not that it was her worst experience ever, but it was still not something that happened every day.

Hearing her door chime, Sam reluctantly got up from her bed to answer it. Waving her hand over the console, she was only half surprised to see her second-in-command standing just outside. "John, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you were adjusting all right and all," He replied somewhat offhandedly, before continuing on a different subject, "We also received a subspace transmission not too long ago from Larrin's ship. Apparently, all went well and they are headed back to pick up their captain."

Nodding thoughtfully, Sam commented, "That's good. I'm sure she wants things to get back to normal as much as I do."

Taking in her companion's appearance, Sam noticed that John looked more tired than usual. Chalking it up to the crazy last couple of days, what with dealing with the city and the ancient device's victims, she said thoughtfully, "Thanks for taking care of everything while I was, indisposed."

Obviously taken aback slightly, he countered, "Oh, well your welcome."

"No, really," Sam emphasized, "You did a good job the last few days, both you and Rodney managed to solve things and keep from blowing up the city. Anyway, I appreciate your checking up on me."

"Right," John replied as he started to turn away, "Well, 'night,"

"Night," Sam replied as she walked back into her room. Throwing herself on the bed she only wondered what kind of paperwork would greet her the next time she visiting her office.

Atlantis Infirmary:

"You know, hitting things can help to calm you down."

A voice called out into Jenifer's private corner of the infirmary. She specifically chose here to spend some quality time with her research, a futile attempt to keep her mind off of recent events. The whole, "Ah-I've-Been-Turned-Into-A-Kid" creeped her out a bit, and she replied noncommittally, "I'm sure that may work well for you, but I prefer to bury myself in my work."

Ronon stood impassively in front of her work station, knowing that she needed to do something to get her mind off of the last couple of days. "I'm not sure if that's healthy doc."

"Yes, and this is coming from Mr. Emotional," Jenifer replied sarcastically, bending back down to peer into her microscope.

Not allowing her to shut him out, Ronon said honestly, "I just think keeping all of that inside is bad for you."

Jenifer spun around in her chair to face him, looking him in the eye she queried playfully, the first time she actually sounded like herself, "Really? And what do you propose I do about it?"

"Well," Ronon began as he scratched his head thoughtfully, "You missed your weekly sparring lesson."

Frowning, Jenifer considered his offer for a moment. Deciding that it would not hurt to try, well the actual sparring always left her with some new bruise, but it would at least help her relieve some stress, so she said with a small smile, "I guess we had better make up that lesson shouldn't we?"

In the past, she always wondered why people sparred late at night, because she had treated a fair number of accidental injuries. But right now, she could care less, because she needed to wrap her mind around a new challenge.

Atlantis:

Sometime later, after stopping in to make sure Rodney left his lab, John felt it was time to check up on their not-so-little house guest. After talking to Sam, he was reassured that she would be alright after this little ordeal, and he knew Ronon had gone to visit Dr. Keller. Still, he doubted anyone really cared to check on Larrin, so he made up his mind on one more stop before calling it a night.

Pulling out a LSD, Sheppard noted one life sign out on "his" balcony, and another just inside. Figuring his odds were pretty good that the dots were Larrin and her guard, John headed to the secluded location of the city wondering just how much she remembered.

Atlantis Balcony:

Larrin peered out at the city, amazed the remarkable size and profound beauty surrounding her. She could hardly imagine living in such a place: such power, such potential, such safety. However, the sound of the door 'whooshing open' abruptly distracted her thoughts. Angry at whoever presumed they might interrupt her solitude, she turned to see not her guard, but Sheppard instead. Trust that man to have perfected the art of being a constant pain.

She cast a penetrating glare in his direction, but he did not yield and instead, sauntered over to the rail next to her. "Evening," he greeted oozing sweetness, albeit with a slight undercurrent of sarcasm; it was just his nature.

She sighed heavily and replied icily, "Is there something you wanted?"

"Actually, would you believe I genuinely cared about how you are doing?" he asked cocking his head to one side.

Larrin could not help releasing a little anger at the attractive way his hair stuck up in every possible direction. Trying to stay upset she replied bitingly, "Why would you do that?"

She heard him chuckle next to her, "Well, for starters I shared kid watching duty for the last couple days. I guess it's a bad habit I have yet to break. You realize you were a lot more trusting as a kid?"

"Most children are, I however am not naïve nor oblivious to the evils of this galaxy," replied Larrin eyes narrowing.

"No, you are a very strong and independent woman who is extremely driven towards her goals," stated John as he continued to gaze out at the reflection of the sky on the sea, "But you don't always have to be so difficult about it."

She smirked at him, "I do what I must to achieve my needs."

Larrin paused for a moment; as if to question a memory, "You said something like that before…" then it dawned on her, "Now I remember this place. You brought us here."

"Yes," he replied before falling silent.

Larrin stood quietly, a silent battle of emotions wrestling within her, her mind in turmoil. As much as detested his ability to get under her skin, she recognized his efforts in watching over her, and even saving her life in the past. "Sheppard," she began, but hesitated looking for the best way to say what she felt, "John…."

He turned to look her squarely in the eye, noting the use of his first name, and she in turn closed the gap between them kissing him lightly on the cheek.

"Thanks," she finished simply, restoring their personal space, and looking anywhere but at him.

He shot her a sideways glance, noticing how she was still a little upset, but less angry and more resigned. Taking it as his cue to leave, he said cheerily, "G'night."

Larrin turned slowly to watch him leave; still puzzled by most of his annoying actions, but at least now she felt that they could be called the actions of a friend and she need not worry about his motives.

--tiny TBC--Only an Epilogue to Go………


	8. Chapter 8

Epilogue:

_Author's Note: This is just a last little bit of silliness. It ties up a loose end from several chapters ago…._

Sam Carter, finally an adult, walked purposefully through the control room in hopes of getting some work done in the peace of her office. However, she was ill prepared for the sight that met her. She expected massive amounts of reports to have piled up. She expected several messages from the IOA demanding to know what happened, she expected several sleepless nights ahead of her to acquaint herself with all the had occurred.

What she did not expect to find in her office was a new paint job! She stepped over the threshold to further examine this little "present." The glass walls overlooking the Control Room were covered in colorful handprints as well as various other designs. She saw red hearts, blue trees, purple clouds, green birds, but what amazed her most were the little stick figures of various expedition members.

The figure labeled at Ronon had purple dreadlocks and was twice as big as any other figure, while Teyla was given long green hair and a big smile. There was also a picture labeled Jenifer, who had a stethoscope around her neck. Sam looked to the left to see a whole group of soldiers who held yellow guns. Slightly below them were more figures bearing data pads, three of which were labeled Rodney, Radek, and the figure behind a console as Chuck.

Lastly, her eyes fell upon three figures; two shorter ones with yellow and brown hair, each holding the hands of a much taller figure with noticeably spiky hair.

Tapping her com unit, Sam gathered her most commanding voice--it wouldn't do to laugh and ruin the effect--and stated firmly,

"Colonel Sheppard and Major Lorne please report to my office to explain their…….latest art project."

After all, only Evan would have the supplies, Sam reasoned, but John must have orchestrated the affair! She grinned evilly to herself at the thought of the two men cleaning her office walls, perhaps with a toothbrush?

Elsewhere in the city, Major Evan Lorne groaned, knowing full well what the summons was about. But how did he explain that it was all Colonel Sheppard's idea?

"Why me?" he asked himself shaking his head at the thought as he stepped into a transporter to take him to his present doom.

--fin—

_Author's Note II: Thanks to anybody who reviewed! They were much appreciated. Also, thanks to Data Seeker who requested this fic and patiently waited for me to FINALLY finish it up._


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